The Crimson Wolf
by The Zero Dragon
Summary: A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered... Post-Oracion Seis. AU
1. The Wounded Warrior

**The Crimson Wolf**

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**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

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**The Wounded Warrior**

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_He breathed heavily as he tried to keep his sword in front of him. The menace in front of him was hardly breathing, and he had already nearly killed Lucy. He glanced over his shoulder to see Leo and Taurus guarding their master while Wendy tried to save the celestial mage's life. The man gritted his teeth in anger. He still heard the crashing and screams of pain elsewhere in the forest as Gray held back the villain's men to the best of his ability. How much longer could the ice wizard hold his ground? Erza barely managed to stand at his side, just as exhausted as he was and sporting a horrible gash in her side. Acnologia's roar brought the man's eyes to the sky above where a beyond furious Natsu fought the monster to a stalemate. The man knew that in that battle of attrition, Natsu's energy would run out first. Acnologia would endure unless Natsu received aid. _

_"I will only ask once more, brother," their opponent stated with a smirk on his face. "It would be boring to have to kill you again and wait for your return again, Geri."_

_"That is _not _my name," he growled back. "And I will not stand down as long as my nakama need me! You betrayed me! You betrayed everyone! Both then and now! For nothing!"_

_"It wasn't for nothing, fool," their enemy retorted with a laugh. "I had fun, after all. And all these years have given me power beyond your wildest dreams."_

_"Why?" the Fairy Tail mage breathed as he helped Erza stand. The villain roared with laughter when he heard these words._

_"Why have I ever bothered doing anything?" he asked rhetorically. "It is fun, and there is no one who can hope to stop me."_

_The mage gripped his sword in rage, and turned to look at Erza, who stood up the rest of the way, her own anger fueling her injured, worn out body. "I will stop you," he yelled, resolute. Their opponent laughed even harder at that statement than he did to the question, even taking several moments to stop and catch his breath._

_"You aren't strong enough," the hysterical menace chuckled darkly. "You were never strong enough to stop me, Geri."_

* * *

"Can you hear me?" Erza asked the bleeding pinkette on forest floor. The Titania was returning from investigating and thrashing some thieves that robbed only fat men when she nearly tripped on the man. As she looked at him, Erza had to remind herself that it was not Natsu, despite how similar this man looked to her dragon slayer friend, although this man's hair was much longer and mostly held back in a spiky warrior's tail.

"Where is my blade?" the man grunted out. Erza could sympathize with the man's need for his weapon as a warrior, and guided the fine katana that lay beside him into his hand.

"Here you go," she said softly. His wounds were fairly serious, but not fatal now that she could get him to safety. When the swordsman felt his blade in his hand, he sighed and closed his eyes. For a moment, Erza thought he died, but saw his chest continue to rise and fall laboriously. Carefully, Erza checked his wounds again, making sure she did not miss anything that could endanger him. Most of the blood poured from a shallow gash in his chest and a cut along his forehead. If she did something to stop the majority of the bleeding, she could get him to Magnolia, but she had to act fast.

She cut his already ripped shirt into strips, and tied several pieces around his chest and head. "That will have to do," Erza muttered. "I'm going to get you to safety. Stay with me." The man nodded his head weakly, and Erza helped him to his feet. He only made it five feet before he fell over, nearly dragging Erza with him. Erza just grunted, and threw the injured stranger onto her shoulder before taking off toward Magnolia.

* * *

"Is Wendy here?" Erza asked urgently as she pushed the guild door open. Several people saw the injured man, who looked like Natsu at first glance, and hustled to find the sky dragon slayer. "I'm taking him to the infirmary. Gray, come help," Erza ordered. The ice-make wizard followed his instructions quickly.

"Who is this guy?" he asked as he helped Erza get the man to the infirmary. "Last thing I need is a Natsu look-alike." Gray shrunk and began to sweat when he caught Erza's glare. He swore her eyes even turned an evil crimson, and his spine tingled.

"I found him in the forest like this," Erza explained. "He is stable, as far as I can tell, but he's lost a lot of blood. Is Master Makarov here?"

"I think so," Gray answered. "I'll go find him." Gray dashed off to look for the master, and nearly ran Wendy over in the process. "Sorry," Gray said as he picked her up off the floor and ran off again.

"Oh!" Wendy cried when she saw the man. "Do you know what happened?" The young girl's hands already began to glow as she approached the bed where the stranger lay.

"I don't," Erza answered. "He was bleeding out in the forest, and I don't even know his name. He has been unconscious most of the time, and when he was awake he couldn't talk well." Wendy nodded her head. When it came down to healing, Wendy was levelheaded most of the time, but her composure quickly vanished as she tried to heal the man.

"My magic isn't doing anything," Wendy nearly whispered in shock. There had been times where she could not heal injuries because they were too grievous and she did not have enough power to heal them. But this man was not nearly hurt enough for that to be the problem.

"What?" Erza asked.

"Something is stopping my magic. Whatever or whoever did this might have cast a spell to prevent healing. I don't know what to do," Wendy cried. Tears threatened to fall, but she shook her head violently from side to side to stop herself. "Um, I'll go get someone who can help."

"Wendy," Master Makarov said as he walked in the room, "go get Mirajane."

"Yes," Wendy said as she ran out to get the takeover mage.

"Tell me everything," Makarov told Erza. His face set in a deep frown as he listened to Erza, who spared no details. Mirajane had Wendy help apply new bandages to the stranger checking over his wounds once more. After Erza finished explaining everything, Makarov grunted as he thought.

"How are his wounds, Mira?" the old man asked.

"He should be fine," Mirajane said with a wide smile. "Natsu and Gajeel had worse wounds than this man."

"Mira, they are dragon slayers," Erza said irritated. "They don't exactly stay on their backs for long."

"I know that," Mira replied. "My point is, other than the blood loss, he is fine. He will probably have some nasty scars, though."

Thinking of the already numerous scars on the swordsman's body, Erza said, "I don't think he will mind."

"Make sure someone comes to check on him," Makarov said. "He will probably need food and water when he can get it."

"Who is this guy?" a certain pink-haired dragon slayer yelled. "Why does he look like me?" Natsu got in the unconscious man's face. "Who do you think you are, copying me?" Erza slammed her armored fist on the idiot's head.

"I doubt he is trying to copy you, Natsu," Lucy said from door. "Sorry, I tried to keep him away, but when he heard he had a clone, he ran up here with a full head of steam."

"It is alright, Lucy," the guild master chuckled. "Natsu isn't easy to stop."

"I know," the celestial spirit mage said. "So what's this guy's story?"

"Erza found him like that in the forest on her way back from a job," Mira said as she pointed to the man's injuries. "Wendy can't heal him, for some reason."

"She told me that," Lucy said. "I can't believe how much he looks like Natsu."

The man coughed, fortunately without any blood. His eyes opened slightly, and his right hand moved around on the bed as if he were looking for something. He opened his mouth to speak, but Erza, recognizing he was looking for his sword again, handed him his katana from where it lay against the wall in its sheath. The man sighed, and opened his eyes wider. "Thank you," he breathed. He caught sight of Natsu and smirked slightly. "Who is the handsome devil?" he coughed out. Natsu grinned widely at his doppelganger.

"I like this guy!" he yelled. "I'm Natsu Dragneel." Natsu grinned widely as he pointed his thumb at his chest.

"Quiet down," Erza barked. Natsu shrunk back from the angry Titania to avoid getting hurt. "You should rest until you feel up to talking. Someone will check in on you often. Tell us if you need anything.

"You are the one who saved me," the swordsman stated. "Thank you."

"Rest," Erza responded as she shooed everyone out of the room, except Makarov. who followed behind, and Wendy, who insisted on staying to help the man when he needed it. Erza trusted the healer to let the man rest

Three days later, the injured man finally recovered enough of his strength to walk about, and decided he was ready to answer Erza and Makarov's questions. The wizards stood around his bed in the infirmary, insisting that he be comfortable for the conversation.

"First off, what is your name?" Erza asked. The pinkette cleared his throat.

"Mitsu, I think," he answered hoarsely.

"You think?" Makarov asked. "You don't know?"

"That is what I was told. I think they did something to me. I can't remember anything," Mitsu said.

"Who are these people?" Erza asked. "Tell us anything you remember."

"I don't know who they were," Mitsu said. "I think they were mages, but I don't remember much else. The men who fought me were masked, but I don't think they were sent by my captors. I guess they could have been, but why bother?"

"How did you manage to get away?" Makarov asked, slightly troubled. The old man wanted to avoid getting dragged into another conflict so soon after the Oracion Seis debacle if he could. Of course, Makarov would never abandon someone in need, but he could encourage the man to leave sooner if that meant it would protect his brats.

"From my attackers?" Mitsu asked. "I guess I didn't really get away from them. But I took a lot of them down with me. I'm surprised I am alive. Thanks again, uh, what's your name?"

"Erza Scarlet," Erza supplied.

"Erza," Mitsu muttered quietly. "Anyway, if you were asking about how I got away from the people who were holding me, I think someone within the group helped me escaped. He was wearing a mask at the time, so I have no clue what he looks like. I'm fairly certain that he was a mage, though, and a powerful one at that."

"Do you remember any symbols or shapes that could identify the group? They may be a recognizable dark guild," Erza said.

"No, I don't remember anything from before the escape. The man who helped me escape told me my name was Mitsu, and handed me my blade. He said that blade was mine, and that he recovered it for me. After that, he helped me get some distance away from wherever it was they were holding me, and then disappeared," Mitsu said. "I got attacked at some point after that."

"Would you happen to know if this group that held you captive cast some magic on you to prevent other magic from affecting you?" Makarov asked. "Wendy tried to heal you with her magic, but it had no effect at all. Cana, another one of my brats, tried to use magic to figure out what was wrong, but her cards acted as though you don't exist."

Mitsu's brow furrowed in confusion when he heard that. "Magic doesn't work on me? That might explain why my attackers were asking how I was able to resist. They weren't skilled enough to ask that based on my ability to defend myself. One of them must have tried to do something to me with magic, but it didn't work," Mitsu said.

"If your former captors knew of your condition or were responsible for it, they definitely would have, at the very least, informed the men they hired to capture or kill you of it," Erza surmised. She nodded to herself after rubbing her chin.

"So your attackers likely weren't sent by the group you escaped from, as you thought," Makarov asserted.

"Yea," Mitsu said, "but I still want to know what they wanted with me." The pink haired man adjusted his position in the bed slightly as he fingered his katana.

"I'm certain you will get that chance," Makarov said. For a moment, the wizard saint remained silent as he thought. When he reached some conclusion, he said: "Continue to rest until you feel up to speed. You are welcome here in Fairy Tail for as long as you need. I admit to being curious to explore the nature of this magic cancelling effect you possess, should you be willing to allow it."

"I think it would do me good to understand it myself," Mitsu replied.

"Fantastic!" Makarov cried with a comically large smirk and a thumbs up. "Come find me whenever you want, and we can discuss it over a drink." Mitsu could not help but smile in return at the previously serious old man. A loud crashing sound followed by some yelling roared into the room.

"It's probably Natsu," Makarov commented with a sigh and a smile. Erza shook her head.

"It doesn't sound like it's gotten too bad yet," she commented. Immediately after, a louder roar and a cry of "MAN" echoed into the infirmary. "Perhaps I spoke too soon."

"What is going on?" Mitsu asked his hosts. Erza turned to explain, then thought better of it.

"You should probably come see what your average day at Fairy Tail is like for yourself," the Titania said. Mitsu grinned slightly as he heard the noises of what he guessed was a brawl get louder before nodding his head.

"It sounds like they're having fun to me," the swordsman said. As he slowly swung his legs to the side of the bed, he realized he still needed to find a shirt. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare shirt around here?"

"Don't worry about it," Makarov joked. "Most of the brats down there aren't wearing shirts half the time, and Gray probably stripped to his underwear, or worse." Mitsu opened his mouth, then closed it immediately. What was one supposed to say after that?"

"Alright then," Mitsu finally managed as he got on his feet. "I'll still be getting some clothes that don't look like someone nearly died in them soon." He cracked his neck and knuckles, before strapping his sword to his waist and following the armored mage out the door toward the great hall of Fairy Tail.

To say he was surprised would be a definite understatement. When he heard the noises coming from the fight in the infirmary, they were muted quite a bit after passing through a few doors and around a corner. In here, it was much louder. Besides that, this brawl, which was supposedly friendly, looked like it could result in death with all the flames, ice, and other magically created projectiles flying around and causing all kinds of destruction. Several people were cursing at one another and screaming all the while, but they still had smiles on their faces for the most part. Three combatants in particular seemed to be the source of the greatest destruction and noise. Two had black hair, one down nearly to his waist, and the other much shorter. The one with longer hair had metal piercings or implants in his face, and the other one wasn't wearing anything besides his underwear. However, it was the third fighter that caught Mitsu's attention. This was his look-alike, though he had much shorter hair.

He threw flames from his fists and feet, impacting the other two and throwing them against the ground and walls. He laughed at the top of his lungs, sending flames shooting toward the ceiling as he roared in his pride at beating his nakama for a moment. An iron rod shot from the direction of iron-face, slamming his twin, along with several unfortunate bystanders, into a support pillar. Mitsu couldn't help but grimace and wonder if the building could actually take this abuse. Before the man with his iron-based magic could strike again or celebrate his victory, the third fighter shot shards of ice out of what appeared to be a longbow constructed from ice.

"Enough!" the redhead at Mitsu's side yelled. Everyone in the room froze instantly, before his clone yelled at the top of his lungs.

"ERZA! FIGHT ME!" The doppelganger leapt toward Mitsu and Erza with fire covering his hands and boosting his jump. Erza would have none of it, however, and slammed the man to the floor at her feet, apparently unconscious for the moment. Mitsu turned to stare at his companion in wonder. Just how strong was this woman?

"Anyone else?" Erza demanded. The rest of the brawlers shook their heads, and returned to their tables in fear. Before long, though, they shook off their terror and returned to their laughter and drinking.

"So this is normal for you people?" Mitsu asked the armored woman at his side. The pinkette on the floor groaned and rubbed his head as he began to wake up.

"For the most part, yes it is," Erza answered. Mitsu whistled in amazement as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Impressive," he commented. His look-alike finally got up from the ground, all the while avoiding looking at Erza. Something seemed different about him when compared to Erza and Makarov. This man had considerably less power than either of them, but there was something else hidden away. Some latent power to be awakened. Did Erza also sense this as well?

"Ow, that hurt," the man whined. He scratched his head and rolled his shoulders. Mitsu thought he could do with a warmer choice of clothing. It might be fine around Magnolia, but elsewhere, not so much. A vest and scarf was all he wore on his upper body, with some baggy pants and sandals on his lower body. But, Mitsu thought the man did make the look work, somehow.

"Next time, don't try and burn down the guild hall while we have a guest," Erza said to the man.

"Aye!" the man quickly yelled. "Hey," he said to Mitsu, "you're that guy that looks like me."

"Really? I thought you looked like me," Mitsu joked. Unfortunately, the humor went over his clone's head.

"I'm no copy! I'm the original Natsu Dragneel!" he growled. Erza slammed her fist against Natsu's head again, but not nearly as violently as before.

"Enough," Erza ordered.

"Okay," Natsu moped.

"Dare I ask what started the fight?" Mitsu asked. Natsu brightened at the mention of his earlier battle.

"Gray pissed me off, so I hit him and he flew into Gajeel. I don't remember much after that, besides hitting people," Natsu said excitedly. Mitsu shook his head. This guy was more than a little bit childlike. "You should join next time, uh... What's your name anyway?"

"My name is Mitsu," said man answered.

"What? No last name?" Natsu asked the other pinkette.

"Not that I remember," Mitsu replied.

"You look like me, so you could borrow my last name until you remember yours," Natsu offered with a goofy smile on his face. A blue cat flew over and landed on Natsu's head shortly after he said that.

"Natsu, he is already trying to steal your look! Don't give him your name!" the little cat cried. Mitsu's eyes bugged out of his head.

"I may not have good memory at the moment, but I know that cats don't talk," he said, dumbfounded.

"Well I'm Happy, and I can talk!" Happy cried.

"I'm glad you're happy, and I'm sure it's because you can talk," Mitsu said.

"What?" Happy asked. "No, I'm Happy all the time."

"Good for you?" Mitsu offered. Erza shook her head as Natsu and Happy smiled brightly.

"The flying cat is named Happy, Mitsu," Erza chuckled. "Though, he is normally happy."

"Aye, sir!" Natsu and Happy laughed.

"Anyway, don't worry, Happy, I won't steal Natsu's name," Mitsu chuckled.

"Hey! How did you know my name? I never introduced myself," Natsu questioned energetically. "Maybe he is trying to become me," he mumbled.

"I heard you say your name a moment ago," Mitsu deadpanned. "If it makes you feel better, let's do some proper introductions."

"Okay, well I'm Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon slayer," Natsu proudly declared as he offered his hand to Mitsu.

"I'm Mitsu, and I wish I had a cool title now," Mitsu joked. Of course, being able to say something like dragon slayer as part of your identity set the bar pretty high. Wait a second... "Dragon slayer?!"

"Yea, it is the type of magic I use. Igneel taught it to me," Natsu explained. Happy, who now floated next to Natsu, nodded his head.

"Natsu eats fire," the cat said. Mitsu's jaw dropped, and he didn't believe it until he later saw Natsu swallowing blazing flames whole.

"Alright," Mitsu said skeptically. Natsu and Happy did not notice his tone though.

"Erza! It's your turn!" Happy cried. Mitsu realized he, in fact, had not been formallly introduced to his savior.

"I suppose," Erza muttered. "I am Erza Scarlet, as I said before. I am also known as Titania, and some have called me the Fairy Queen." Mitsu's brows shot up in surprise at the impressive titles.

"Then I suppose you are fairly well known," he mused.

"Erza is really famous and powerful," Happy worshipped. Mitsu caught Erza glancing at the roof, as though she were exasperated, and figured this was not the first time the cat had been so praising.

"I have earned as reputation as a powerful mage, but I care little for titles," Erza said.

"So what's the deal with your magic anyway?" Natsu asked. "Why did you stop Wendy from helping you?"

"I don't know if it is my magic, and I didn't stop Wendy, whoever that is, from helping me intentionally," Mitsu said.

"Wendy is the blue haired girl that helped take care of you," Erza explained.

"Ah, well I'll be sure to thank her when I see her," Mitsu said. "Anyway, why did you think I was the one stopping Wendy, Natsu?" The dragon slayer shrugged his shoulders.

"I fought a guy once that could stop magic with his own magic," Natsu said. "He was fun to fight. But you don't smell much like him, and your eyebrows aren't nearly as big. You look too much like me."

"I don't smell like him?" Mitsu asked, confused at that choice of words.

"No, you don't," Natsu said. Then he realized what Mitsu meant. "Oh, I have a really good nose. It's a dragon slayer thing, but my nose is better than Wendy and Gajeel's. Most people that use the same magic smell a little alike to me." Natsu seemed a little scatterbrained to Mitsu, but he just shook his head.

"So Wendy and this Gajeel guy are dragon slayers too, huh?" Mitsu said. "I guess there is a big dragon problem around here for there to be so many of you." Natsu looked at Mitsu with a frown.

"There is a dragon problem. We can't find any of our dragons," Natsu said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Now Mitsu was thoroughly confused, and it apparently showed on his face, because Erza explained.

"The dragon slayers were taught their magic by dragons, who were essentially their parents. All the dragons disappeared on July 7, X777, and haven't been seen or heard from since then," she said.

"Oh," Mitsu said. "I'm sorry to bring it up then." Natsu shook his head and smiled while pumping his fist.

"Don't worry about it!" the dragon slayer said. "We'll find Igneel and the others someday!" Mitsu smiled at his clone's energy and optimism. Dragons, he knew, were fearsome creatures, and he could not imagine what could even try to fight them. How he knew that was for anyone to guess.

"I'm sure you will," Mitsu offered.

"I will," Natsu said with conviction.

"Aye!" Happy cheered. The four of them were silent for several long moments as they just looked at each other. It was slightly awkward. Then Natsu fixed it.

"Hey, Mitsu, wanna fight?" he asked excitedly. Erza glared at Natsu for even thinking of it. "Don't worry, we'll do it outside," Natsu said, waving Erza off. She narrowed her eyes, then something occurred to her, causing her to smirk.

"I think it's a good idea," Erza said. Natsu, Happy, and Mitsu all turned to stare at her with their jaws dropped.

Erza dragged them all outside next to the pool, with several people from the guild following them out. Erza waved for Natsu and Mitsu to go on. Natsu's smile nearly split his face in half as he leapt at his look-alike, arms blazing, full force. Several people cried out, sure that Natsu would kill the man with his uncontrolled strength. Mitsu had enough sense to roll to the side and dodge the blow, pulling his sheathed sword from his back as he stood back up. The swordsman held his blade above his waist with both hands, tip pointed toward the dragon slayer. He did his best to maintain his composure and breathing, but it was a little difficult with a laughing, slightly crazy, fire wielding wizard charging at him.

Natsu jumped right before reaching Mitsu, and slammed his fiery fist into the ground where his look-alike once stood. Mitsu swung his still covered blade towards Natsu's head, but before the blow connected, Natsu blocked it with his hand. However, the instant Natsu touched the scabbard, the flames on his arms died. Erza, standing off to the side, smiled as her suspicion was confirmed. Without his magically augmented strength, the force of Mitsu's unrestrained blow sent Natsu tumbling into the pool. Everyone watching, sans Erza, was shocked.

Natsu soon jumped back out of the pool with a tremendous smile on his face. "Well you definitely stopped my magic that time. But can you stop this?" Natsu yelled. He sucked air into his lungs, his cheeks puffing out; "Fire Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of flame shot out of Natsu mouth. The air around the pool dried out due to the immense heat. But Mitsu somehow knew beyond any doubt he could take the blow, and leapt into the flames, to the shock of even Erza. As the fire tried to lick at Mitsu's skin, it vanished. Mitsu did not even feel the heat of the flames, just the dryness of the air. Using the fire from Natsu's attack as cover, Mitsu swung his sword over his head and then crashing down onto Natsu's hard head. When the blow connected, the rest of the flames disappeared and a loud crack echoed across the area.

Once the steam cleared from Natsu's attack, everyone saw Natsu sitting on the pool's deck rubbing his head with Mitsu offering the dragon slayer his hand. Nobody said anything for a second, before everyone cheered for the "new guy's" victory. Then they realized how much money they lost, and groaned as the jewels flowed toward Erza, who had another small grin on her face, and Makarov, who had no problem boasting about being right.

"I knew I should have bet on Mitsu," Happy said as he flew to the clones.

"Hey!" Natsu yelled. "He cheated!"

"How did I cheat?" Mitsu asked his twin incredulously.

"You made my fire go away!" Natsu yelled louder. "That's not fair!"

"It's perfectly fair," Mitsu replied calmly. "Besides, I didn't get rid of your fire on purpose. I have no idea how I did it. To top it off, in a real fight, there is no such thing as fair and unfair. There is only the victor, and the loser, who is often dead." Several people thought Mitsu's words were somewhat dark, but Erza nodded her head.

"He is absolutely right, Natsu," Titania said. "We in Fairy Tail don't leave dead bodies behind us if we can help it, but many of our enemies are not so kind. Think of the assassin guild that Jellal hired at the Tower of Heaven, or Erigor. They kill people for a living."

"That's fine, because I won't lose in a real fight!" Natsu declared. Mitsu and Erza just shook their heads. "Let's go again, Mitsu!" Mitsu glanced at Erza, and, taking a cue from her, slammed the hilt of his sword against Natsu's head, knocking him back down to the ground, unconscious.

"Does that count?" Mitsu asked Happy.

"Aye!" the flying cat said, causing everyone to chuckle.

"Flame idiot over there got beat that easily by someone other than Erza," the black haired ice mage, now wearing clothes, commented. "I think I like you, guy. The name's Gray Fullbuster, ice-make mage."

"Mitsu, the guy who Erza saved," Mitsu said. "That still doesn't sound good."

"It's fine," Gray said, "Erza saves a lot of people. And threatens more."

"Huh?" Mitsu asked, confused at what Gray said. "What do you mean?"

"Erza can be demanding. I saw her knock out at least seven different guardsmen just because they didn't answer her question quickly enough," Gray explained.

"They had it coming," Erza said. "It was an emergency situation, and there was no time to spare for niceties or excuses." Erza's explanation made perfect sense to Mitsu, but he still resolved to answer her questions promptly. "Mitsu, I would be interested in sparring with you at some point. You seem to be an excellent swordsman, and I would like a challenge."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Mitsu said. "Albeit a dangerous one."

"There is no need to worry. I know how to hold back, unlike Natsu," Erza said. Gray was standing behind her waving his hands and shaking his head no. It was perfectly clear that the ice mage was terrified of his redheaded friend.

"Sure," Mitsu said hesitantly. He turned to look at Natsu, who still had not moved. "Should we do something about him?"

"Yea, we should," Gray agreed before striding over and rolling Natsu into the pool.

"Hey! If he doesn't wake up, Natsu could drown, idiot!" Mitsu cried. Gray waved him off.

"He'll be fine," he said. "If that moron dies by drowning, I think I'll laugh myself to death right after. Sometimes I think he is just too stupid to die."

"That makes absolutely no sense at all," a familiar voice said. Mitsu turned to see the blond woman that was with Natsu before walking up. "Erza, how did you and master know that this guy could beat Natsu?" Natsu soon clawed at the edge of the pool gasping for air and glaring at Gray, who just smirked and pretended he did nothing.

"It was mostly a hunch on my part, though I can't speak for master," Erza said. "When both Wendy and Cana's magic didn't work on Mitsu here, I suspected he had some natural magic cancelling ability or something of the kind. Granted, Natsu is no slouch in combat even without magic. The rest was assuming Natsu would fail to adjust for his magic not working, and just trying to overpower his look-alike, or would fail when tested in physical combat." Lucy shook her head at Erza.

"That doesn't sound like much of a gamble," Lucy muttered. "You had almost everything figured out."

"Mitsu, come speak with me inside in a moment," Master Makarov called as he counted his winnings.

"Yes, sir," Mitsu responded in kind. "I guess I had better get going."

"Nah, gramps will be counting his money for a while still," Gray said. "But I want to buy you a drink for kicking flame brain's sorry ass."

"Sure," Mitsu said, "but where did your clothes go?"

"CRAP!" Gray yelled as he looked around frantically for his clothes. Mitsu did not see when or how he stripped. One second the ice mage had his clothes on, the next they were gone. An impressive feat, if Mitsu were honest with himself. After all, the number of buckles and straps on his clothes had to make it difficult to strip.

"How does he do that?" Mitsu finally asked. Lucy and Erza shook their heads.

"We still haven't figured that one out," Lucy said. "Gray does unconsciously. It has something to do with his training underneath Ur. She had him and Lyon, her other student, strip down in the frigid weather to help them master ice magic."

"That sounds...delightful," Mitsu commented.

"My thoughts exactly," Lucy commented.

Soon enough, the entire group wandered back into the guild hall. Gray forgot to buy Mitsu the drink he promised him, but the swordsman could have cared less. The group, which many people in the guild called Team Natsu, kept him company. Mitsu thought that, at some level, they took him in because of two things: Erza bringing him to the guild in the first place, and he looked like Natsu's long lost twin brother.

Mitsu was leaning forward on the table when he saw Master Makarov had finally stopped bragging about his winning bet to talk. Erza saw this as well, and dragged Mitsu up from his seat to go speak with the guild master. As Erza and Mitsu walked toward him, Makarov smiled widely as he drained a tankard of beer.

"Thanks for the win, Mitsu," Makarov said. "Nothing like a few thousand jewel to cheer a man up."

"You mean jewel to pay for your booze?" the pretty, white haired girl tending the bar asked playfully.

"Of course, Mirajane!" Makarov shouted. "What else would I do with it?"

"You wanted to speak with me, Master Makarov?" Mitsu asked.

"Yes, of course," the master said. "Mira, this is Mitsu, the swordsman Erza brought in the other day."

"I remember him," Mirajane said cheerfully. "I helped patch him up, remember?"

"That's right," Makarov said.

"Pleased to meet you, Mirajane," Mitsu said with a slight bow and a smile.

"Oh dear, someone has manners around here," Mira exclaimed. "I wonder how long those will last?"

"You act as though I will be staying," Mitsu said.

"You want to leave?" Mira asked, tilting her head.

"Well, I don't really have anywhere else to go, and the people around here are great, but I'm no mage," Mitsu said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Makarov said after taking another draught of his drink. Mitsu inclined his head, wondering what Makarov meant. "After watching your battle with Natsu, I am nearly certain that this ability of yours is magical in nature. That qualifies you as a mage in my book."

"I found it curious that when he touched Natsu, all of his magic power was useless," Erza said. Mira brought her hands to her face.

"Is Natsu okay?" the bartender asked with concern.

"He is fine," Erza waved her off. "It is nothing like what Phantom did to master. Once Mitsu broke contact, Natsu had immediate use of his magic again."

"Yes," Makarov said, taking another drink, "It appears that Mitsu here has some magic nullifying capability. All the magic we've seen used on him has no effect at all, whether malicious or not. Tell me what you felt when you jumped into Natsu's attack, Mitsu. Did you feel the heat of the flames?"

"No," Mitsu said, "I didn't feel any of the heat, even when I should have been touching it. The air felt dry, until I felt the steam from the pool, if that is important."

"So the magic itself has no effect on you," Mira said. "But it sounds like the stuff the magic effects does, so you could feel the dry air and the steam that Natsu created."

"That was my conclusion as well," Makarov said. "Did you feel any sort of drain in your strength when this happened?" Mitsu shook his head.

"Not even a little bit," he answered. Makarov hummed as he thought about the implications of this.

"I will need more time to think on this, and I may consult with some other guild masters to get their thoughts on the matter," Makarov said. "But I do know that your ability has a foundation in magic, as I said, that makes you a mage. If you do find yourself wanting to join Fairy Tail, you are entirely welcome to."

"Thank you for the offer, sir," Mitsu said. "But I need to find more about myself and my past. I don't want to be an occasional fixture in the guild hall."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mira said. "Gildarts and Mystogan, two of our most powerful mages, are very rarely here, and we still consider them family. Gildarts more so than Mystogan, because Mystogan casts a sleep spell on everyone when he comes to the guild, so nobody really knows him. Although I suppose you will get to meet him if he comes around soon, since I doubt his magic will work on you."

"That sounds a bit odd," Mitsu commented. "Any idea why he does that?" Even Makarov shook his head.

"There is no helping it," the master said. "I've asked him to stop before, but I doubt he will change his ways. Mystogan is a secretive recluse, but he is a member of Fairy Tail nonetheless. He arrived during the Fantasia disaster to confront Laxus, and Porlyusica tells me he is responsible for taking out several of Phantom Lord's guild halls on his own."

"I don't understand what either of those two events are, but it sounds like this Mystogan guy is powerful and has Fairy Tail's interests at heart," Mitsu commented.

"I suppose," Erza said, "but he very rarely comes by. Not even master knows what he does with the majority of his time."

"It doesn't matter," Makarov said. "He has never disgraced Fairy Tail to my knowledge, and he has been here for us when we needed him, even if we didn't know it. What Mystogan does on his own time is his business. Our point is, you are free to pursue your personal business. Natsu has left to investigate rumors of dragon sightings to try and find his father, and likely will take off on a whim if he hears something else. In fact, there is every possibility that someone will offer to accompany you. Does that change your mind?"

"Well it is definitely something to consider," Mitsu said. "There isn't much of a reason to say no, is there?" The three mages in front of him smiled, Mira and Makarov more widely than the reserved Erza, and Mirajane brought out the guild stamp.

"Where do you want your guild symbol, and what color?" she asked. Mitsu had no idea where to put it.

"Wherever, I guess," the swordsman said, "I don't really care what color, as long as it isn't pink. I don't like pink."

"But your hair is pink," Mira said, confused.

"That's different," Mitsu responded quickly, waving Mira off. The takeover mage just giggled.

"You sounded like Natsu just now," Mira explained when Mitsu looked at her strangely. "Is your right shoulder alright?" Mitsu just shrugged.

"Just do the mark in something other than red. If Mitsu were to get a haircut, we would have no hope of telling the two apart," Erza mentioned.

"How about black then?" Mira asked.

"That's fine with me," Mitsu said. Mira then pressed the stamp against his shoulder. It tingled for a moment, and when Mira pulled the stamp away there was a dark Fairy Tail emblem marking Mitsu's muscled right shoulder. He flexed as he admired it, and then smiled.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Bladesman Mitsu," Makarov announced loudly. The guild broke out in a cheer as they nearly always did when they received a new member. Drinks went all around as the rambunctious guild found a reason to party and make merry.

"Welcome to the family," Erza said as she went to join Team Natsu at their table.

"Family, huh?" Mitsu asked nobody in particular. Mira smiled as she pushed a drink toward the newest addition to Fairy Tail.

"Fairy Tail has always been family to its members, especially those who don't have one of their own," Mirajane commented. "Your one of us now." Mitsu smiled widely at Mira as he took the drink and drained it.

Off in the shadows, a masked, darkly clothed man resisted the urge to chuckle to himself. "It figures he would find his way here," he said. The man known as Mystogan felt a magical alarm go off in his head, before sighing. "The Anima again. Father has been more active of late," he muttered before vanishing to stop the hyper-dimensional spell from wreaking havoc.

Mitsu looked in the direction where Mystogan once stood, sensing the use of powerful magic, but saw nothing but thin air. His eyes narrowed, but Mitsu shook it off as nothing. After all, the entire building was stuffed to the brim with wizards, so magic was to be expected.

Before Mitsu could ponder any more on the strange magic, Natsu and Gray started yelling. Natsu pushed Gray over, and on top of Erza, who, after the loss of her cake, jumped in the fight for vengeance. Mira giggled as more and more people got sucked into the brawl, and Mitsu shook his head before setting his drink down. He turned to Mira and winked. "I'm part of the family, right?" Mira just laughed and gestured for Mitsu to enjoy himself. In fact, his presence in the fight would probably limit some of the damage. Immediately, Mitsu leapt into his first ever Fairy Tail bar fight, and he loved every second of it.

* * *

_"I told you," the man forced out with gritted teeth, "my name is not Geri. And you're right. Geri was never capable of defeating you. He was never strong enough. He faltered when it counted most. But I am Mitsu of Fairy Tail! And as long as I draw breath, my nakama give me strength, strength the likes of which you have searched for all these years. They fight _with _me, whether they stand next to me," Mitsu looked at Erza, "or behind me," he glanced at Lucy. Then he focused his attention on his supposed "brother" and glared with steel. "THAT IS FAIRY TAIL!_

* * *

**AN: **Hey there everyone! I wanted to try my hand at Fairy Tail fanfiction, and dusted off my account, with great prejudice. Thanks for reading down to here! How did I do so far? Any suggestions? You just might have a part in this story. Thanks again!


	2. The First Incident

**The Crimson Wolf**

* * *

**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

* * *

**The First Incident**

* * *

Mitsu had nowhere to sleep that night, although Erza offered him her earlier winnings to pay for a place in the male Fairy Hills dorm, saying he did all the work anyway. He opted to crash with Natsu, after said dragon slayer practically begged him to. After spending the night with Natsu and Happy, Mitsu wondered just how wet he would have been if rain had come during that night. He did find that he liked the location of Natsu's house, though. The distance from the town proper was nice.

Either way, the next morning Mitsu walked alongside Natsu and Happy as they made their way to the guild. "Come on, let's go get Lucy," Natsu suddenly said out of nowhere.

"Aye!" Happy cheered before flying a bit ahead.

"Do you normally pick Lucy up in the morning?" Mitsu asked his counterpart.

"She normally wakes me up," Natsu answered, turning to smile at Mitsu, who looked concerned.

"You mean she goes all the way out to your house before going to the guild?" the swordsman wondered.

"No, I crash at her place a lot," Natsu said. "Her bed is the best I've ever slept in." Mitsu nearly choked on his own spit. He did _not_ think that Natsu and Lucy had that kind of relationship.

"I had no idea you were that close," Mitsu commented.

"Well, she normally Lucy Kicks me out of her house when I take over her bed," Natsu grumbled. Now Mitsu was completely confused. Just who was Lucy to Natsu, and vice versa? "Here we are," Natsu said, his hands on his hips as Happy flew up to a particular window.

Natsu jumped up to the window with Happy, to Mitsu's surprise, and knocked on the window. "USE THE DOOR FOR ONCE!" Mitsu heard Lucy scream before seeing Natsu and Happy falling back to the street after being kicked off the ledge. Mitsu laughed as Natsu rubbed his head and Happy moaned something about Lucy being mean. Natsu turned to Mitsu and grinned.

"That's our Lucy!" he said happily.

"Aye," Happy groaned. "And she is cranky as usual."

"It sounds to me that you two invade her personal space more than a little too much," Mitsu chuckled. He understood Natsu and Lucy a bit better now. It seemed to him that they did like each other, but Natsu was entirely oblivious, even to his own feelings. After all, nobody bothered climbing through just anyones window, or sneaking in their bed, unless they harbored some feelings. Or was Natsu just that much of an idiot?

"Let's go inside," Natsu said, using the door this time. "I'm sure she is dressed by now." Mitsu shook his head in exasperation with his nakama. How could anyone that looks just like him be that oblivious and ignorant? Mitsu only hoped Lucy would not associate him too closely with Natsu in this instance.

"Morning," Lucy greeted grumpily from the couch. "Oh, Mitsu, you're here too?"

"I crashed with Natsu last night, but I want to figure something else out before the next storm comes around," Mitsu explained. "If I had known what he was going to do wasn't acceptable to you, I would have at least tried to stop him."

Lucy yawned again as she stretched her arms out above her head. "It's fine," Lucy finally mumbled. "It just won't go through his thick skull, no matter who tells him otherwise. He isn't the only person to make free use of my apartment. I'm almost used to it now."

"What do you mean?" Mitsu asked, before changing his mind. "Nevermind that, I don't think I really want to know. Since you're on Team Natsu anyway, I'm guessing it has something to do with Gray, and a lack of clothes."

"Erza has come by unannounced before as well, but she is a much better houseguest than a half-naked Gray or Natsu. I have stopped counting how many times he has snuck into my bed," Lucy said, mumbling the last part.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed him already," Mitsu laughed.

"Lucy tried, but she isn't tough enough to do it," Happy commented.

"Shut up, cat!" Lucy yelled in anger. "I have not tried to kill Natsu! He just needs to learn his lesson, and he doesn't understand anything but violence."

"I still think your kicks hurt bad," Natsu muttered.

"Lucy is scary when she is angry," Happy said. Mitsu glanced at Lucy again before nodding his head.

"I'm sure she is," he agreed. "But, then again, most women are scary when they are angry." Lucy laughed at Mitsu's joke. The best jokes do contain a kernel of truth, after all. As an author, she knew that well. Mitsu pointed his finger toward one of the chairs in the room, asking silent permission to sit, which Lucy assented to with a wave of her hand and a smile. It was a relief for her to have a truly polite house guest. Part of the Heartfilia in her still enjoyed proper manners and etiquette.

"Feel free to stop by," Lucy invited the swordsman. "Having some dignified company

once in a while will be nice."

"Dignified?" Natsu asked, totally confused. "What's that?" Lucy sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Natsu," Lucy groaned. "It isn't important, and I wasn't entirely serious anyway."

"Thanks for the invitation, Lucy," Mitsu said from his chair. "This is a nice little place you've got here. It seems peaceful."

"And it would be, if my teammates would offer me peace," Lucy agreed.

"I heard someone say that you are a writer," Mitsu said after a moment of silence. Lucy looked surprised, and narrowed her eyes at Natsu. Then she dropped her head down.

"The whole guild probably knows anyway," she mumbled. "Yes, I'm writing a book. I don't think it is really all that good, though."

"I'm sure it is good," Mitsu insisted. "You seem to be fairly sharp, despite what your hair color suggests." Lucy smiled a bit at that.

"Thanks, I guess," she said. "Levy seems to like the chapters I've shown her so far, and she probably reads more than I do, so I guess I don't really give myself enough credit."

"Lucy kicks everyone but Levy upside the head when they read it," Happy said. "She's mean."

"I do not! Stupid cat!" Lucy yelled with her face contorted in anger. Natsu thought this was hilarious, and end up laughing as his feline friend tried to hide from Lucy's wrath, and Mitsu had to admit he did chuckle a bit himself.

"Anyway, the fact that you are making an earnest attempt at writing a book is impressive on its own," Mitsu said after everything calmed down. Happy was still hiding behind Natsu, and Lucy's face was red from the anger and the exertion from trying to catch the cat.

"Thanks," Lucy said with a slight shy smile. "I do have a lot of inspiration from my travels with Team Natsu." Mitsu nodded. It made sense to him, he had heard a few select tales about the group the previous day. Everything that could possibly happen seemed to center around them. Even his own appearance directly involved Team Natsu. They attracted trouble like honey attracts ants. Seriously, how many times could they get dragged into something against their own will? And when they did do something willingly, they ended up getting more than they bargained for. But Team Natsu pulled through, if just barely, every single time. What scared Mitsu was how they seemed to nearly consider him one of their own.

Natsu suddenly groaned loudly. "I'm bored, let's go to the guild already. Talking is boring." Lucy said a few choice words and smacked the dragon slayer around a few times, but agreed that it was past time to leave.

When they pushed through the doors and into the guild hall several minutes later, Mitsu was pleased to see the guild in as much chaos as it normally was, though there was no fight, yet. Then Natsu jumped toward Gajeel, and the pair proceeded to fight, before Master Makarov stopped them, saying it was too early, and he still had a slight hangover from the booze he drank last night, courtesy of his prize money. Mitsu never met the dragon slayer formally, but they did hit each other several times during the brawl, which was much more personal anyway.

"Hey there, handsome," a voice called from several tables away. "Thanks for the drinks."

"Cana," Mitsu said with a smile. He learned quickly that Cana Alberona was always either drunk, or trying to be. She was a very impressive drinker. Last night, several people bought him drinks, but once he felt he was beginning to impair himself, he discreetly slid the booze over to her, earning her immediate friendship. His instincts were sharp for a reason, and he did not feel comfortable if he was unable to fight adequately if he needed to. It went against every instinct to continue drinking, so he stopped. Even after drinking her barrels of booze, and Mitsu's drinks, Cana still was not wasted."It was no problem at all. I'm glad you enjoyed them."

"Fairy Tail has good booze," Cana cheered heartily. "And great people," she added after a draught of beer. Mitsu smiled as he sat down across from her. Neither of them said anything else, apart from Cana offering a few taste tests of several varieties of liquor. Soon enough, Gray plopped down at their table.

"Hey," he said cooly. "Did Natsu manage to not drive you insane last night?" The now half naked Gray asked. As long as he kept his pants on, Mitsu would not say a word. After all, he still had not found another shirt, and his pants were mostly in shreds. Though, his bandages did cover part of his chest.

"He would _not _shut up for the first hour, just talking about Igneel, and asking if I remembered anything yet," Mitsu chuckled. "But, as you see, I'm still perfectly sane."

"None of us are wearing shirts," Cana chuckled before Gray could respond. The card mage was right of course. Cana herself was just wearing her bikini top, while Gray and I were shirtless. And there went Gray's pants, though Gray still failed to notice.

"Gray, how did you even get your pants off while sitting down?" Mitsu asked flatly. Gray looked down to see that his pants were indeed missing. Then he shrugged his shoulders, as if he could not be bothered to care at the moment.

"I guess I'm talented," Gray joked. "So Natsu didn't try to pick a fight with you or anything?"

"No, he just kept me up with questions. He wasn't satisfied with my lack of answers until I told him he was welcome to help me find the answers for myself. Natsu actually said he thought we would find that I was his lost twin brother, or a magical clone, or something to that account," Mitsu said with a chuckle.

"Hey, don't discount the weirdness that surrounds Natsu," Cana reminded. "I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."

"If what were the case?" Mitsu asked. "If I were his twin?"

"No, the magic clone thing," Cana clarified. "There is no way some poor mother could actually manage to give birth to two monsters like the pair of you. And if she did, how would she have survived, and how did you get separated? It makes more sense that you would be a magical clone." Gray leaned toward Mitsu when Cana began drinking from a barrel of beer.

"Personally, I vote for the twin thing," he whispered.

"It's not a poll or election," Mitsu whispered back. "For all we know, I could be some kind of time traveler, or some alternate dimension's version of Natsu."

"Enough crazy talk," Cana said after she drained the rest of the barrel. "Mitsu is Mitsu, and a member of Fairy Tail. Nothing can change that." Gray nodded his head in agreement, and I smiled.

"Maybe so, but I still want to know who I am," Mitsu said. Cana shrugged.

"Fair enough," the champion alcoholic said as she reached for another barrel. Mitsu shook his head. This girl never satisfied her thirst, so far as he had seen, and he doubted that anyone has.

"So where would you start?" Gray asked. "Looking, I mean." Mitsu grunted.

"That's the problem," the swordsman said. "I don't have the faintest idea. I don't know how to get back to the mages that held me. The only person that might know who I am is the person that saved me, but I wouldn't have the first clue on where to find him, if he is even still alive. There is every chance that someone killed him for helping me escape."

"You're assuming two things," Cana said, looking to Gray to see if he would agree. "First, you're assuming that the man who helped you get away was actually associated with your captors, which isn't necessarily true. Second, you're assuming that this guy, if caught, would be unable to defend himself."

"She has a point," Gray agreed. He then leaned forward onto the table to get more comfortable.

"I guess so," Mitsu said thoughtfully. "If the person who helped me get away wasn't actually one of my captors, then he was an excellent infiltrator, and probably a skilled fighter. He is my best lead, so I had better pursue it. The question is how." That pretty much stumped all three mages.

"It isn't like with Natsu, or the other slayers. Natsu keeps his ear to the wind for rumors of dragons, and when he hears one, he investigates to see if it's Igneel," Cana said.

"Yea, Flame Head has it easy," Gray said. "You're looking for someone who was wearing a mask when he, essentially, broke you out of prison. If I were gonna break someone out, I would wear a mask too. He might wear a mask everywhere he goes, like I hear Mystogan does, but I doubt it."

"So, I basically can't ask after him, or search for him in any other way," Mitsu muttered. "Even if I could, there's nothing saying he knows anything about me other than my name, if he actually knew that, and didn't just give me a random name. So, I'm back to square one."

"Don't be so bummed about it," Cana said. "If your amnesia is magically induced, your power should shake it off eventually. If it is normal, then you might recover your memories some day."

"Or you could be a magical clone that doesn't even have memories, since you didn't exist before a few days ago," Gray joked. All three of them laughed at the absurd thought. Soon their laughter grew more intense for no real reason, and a few other people from the nearby tables began to chuckle as well. After all, if such magic even existed, it would be far beyond foul; something the likes of Zeref would practice.

Lucy wandered over toward the hysterical trio, with Wendy not far behind. "What's so funny?" Lucy asked. Cana and Gray had no control of their laughter yet, but Mitsu had his beaten down to a chuckle.

"Gray joked again that I could be a magic clone of Natsu, and it just seemed more funny the second time around," Mitsu explained after a moment.

"Well," Lucy said as she blinked. It was not even the slightest bit funny to her. "I guess it is ridiculous."

"That it is," Mitsu agreed as he threatened to begin laughing again. Gray and Cana were entirely out of breath, and that was the only reason they managed to stop. "Was there something you needed?"

"Mirajane and Erza mentioned that you still needed to get some new clothes, and Wendy and I decided to offer to take you out shopping," Lucy said. Wendy nodded behind her with a broad smile on her cute face.

"Thanks, I guess," Mitsu said as he rubbed the back of his head. "But why would you even want to come? I can probably figure it out myself." Lucy shrugged her shoulders, but before she could say something, Wendy spoke up.

"It will be fun, and this way we know you will actually buy more than one outfit," Wendy replied happily. Lucy gestured toward Wendy, who hit the nail right on the head with her comment.

"She is right," Lucy said. "Half the guys here wear the same thing all the time. I think they bought several of the exact same outfits."

"Honey," Cana said, "don't be so optimistic about it. Most of these idiots don't change, or even wash their clothes hardly at all."

"I do," Gray mumbled.

"That's because you lose half your clothes anyway," Lucy said. "Where are your clothes anyway?"

"Fine, I'll go find them," Gray grumbled.

"We mentioned it to him earlier," Cana explained when Lucy look confused, clearing everything up perfectly.

"So, how about it?" Lucy asked Mitsu again. Wendy smiled shyly with her brown eyes wide. Mitsu shook his head hopelessly. He did not have a chance.

"Sure," he agreed, "let's go." Gray snickered slightly, but Mitsu glared at him and drew his finger across his neck threateningly, effectively shutting Gray up. Then Mitsu smirked devilishly. "Hey, Natsu!" he yelled.

"What?" the dragon slayer asked, sticking his head out of ball of fighters.

"Gray just called you an idiot again!" Mitsu said.

"GRAY, YOU ASSHOLE! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Natsu screamed, just as Mitsu predicted.

"I hate you," Gray said to Mitsu an instant before Natsu tackled him, arms blazing. "CUT IT OUT, IDIOT! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!"

"OH YEAH? YOU SAID IT JUST NOW!" Natsu retorted as he threw his fists toward Gray. Wendy looked horrified, but Mitsu slung her over his shoulder, with Carla, who Happy previously had distracted, flying overhead.

"Let's get out of here, girls," Mitsu said as he hustled out the door, Lucy laughing the whole way. Cana for her part, just kept drinking after a brief laugh of her own.

"You already fit in, Mitsu," Lucy yelled over the noise.

"Can you put me down now?" Wendy asked now that they were far enough out in the courtyard to avoid being caught by the brawlers.

"Yes, put the child down already," Carla said. "She is perfectly capable of walking on her own."

"I know that," Mitsu said as he set her down with a sigh. "I just acted quickly to make sure she didn't get sucked into that." Mitsu found himself not liking Carla all that much, from what little they had interacted. The white cat treated the ever-cheerful Happy with disdain, along with pretty much everyone else but Wendy and the master. Needless to say, that annoyed Mitsu.

"Well she was fine," Carla said firmly.

"Carla, don't worry about it," Wendy said meekly. "Mitsu did nothing wrong. Thank you, by the way."

"No need for that, Wendy," Mitsu insisted. The three of them began to walk again while Carla flew alongside Wendy.

"So, is there anything in particular you have in mind?" Lucy asked. Mitsu chuckled.

"You realize you're asking an _amnesiac guy_ that only vaguely knows himself what he would like to wear, right?" Mitsu asked. Lucy sniffed slightly as she frowned.

"It needed to be asked," Lucy said. "All this means now is that this will take longer." Lucy suddenly sported a nearly evil grin as she glared at Mitsu, who paled when he began to get an idea of what he managed to get himself into.

* * *

Even though Mitsu was terrified at first, mostly because Lucy was especially cruel with the first few things she insisted he try on, the blond eventually settled down and found several outfits that Mitsu actually liked. The one thing Mitsu decided on his own was he wanted to get the Fairy Tail emblem on his clothes. The guild was the one thing he had to identify himself, apart from his blade. He knew he would introduce himself in the future as Mitsu, the Swordsman of Fairy Tail, and that made him eager to show the symbol of Fairy Tail, even if his shoulder was covered.

Mitsu found himself with several pairs of sleeveless shirts, mostly in black, red, and blue, and a few pairs of pants. Lucy said they were cargo pants, but Mitsu did not really care. He liked the large pockets on the sides, and how they fit so comfortably. The majority of the pants were a tan color, but two were black and gray. Carla, who stayed quiet for the most part, actually helped choose a pair of heavy-duty combat boots, which Mitsu thought were great. When Mitsu mentioned something about colder weather, Wendy managed to convince Lucy that Mitsu might travel somewhere soon where it would be cold, so they ended up grabbing long crimson coat with black trim. Mitsu had to fight tooth and nail to convince Lucy to let him buy a pair of bracers. Lucy finally relented when Mitsu said that the pair he liked was technically light armor, and therefore not for looks. Wendy, for her part, actually thought the bracers suited Mitsu. The final item was another one of necessity for Mitsu: something to keep his long, spiked hair out of his face when he fought. Lucy snatched two long strips of cloth, one black and one red, and told him to figure it out. The swordsman decided to tie one around his forehead as a headband, cutting a small bit off to tie up his warrior tail.

When he got back to the guild, Mira helped Mitsu put a large Fairy Tail emblem on the back of his coat, along with a smaller one set on the right breast. Both symbols were a deep black to contrast against the crimson of the jacket. When he had the jacket on along with the rest of one of his new outfits and his sword, he looked like the warrior he truly was; confident and intimidating.

Mitsu plopped down, exhausted after Lucy's forced shopping trip. He had no idea you could be that tired after something so simple. He buried his head underneath his folded arms as he tried to rest for a moment. But, knowing Fairy Tail well enough, even after one day, Mitsu was not the least bit surprised when someone shook him to get him up. Mitsu looked up after a moment, with a slight glare, to see Erza. He softened his glare, mostly because he was happy to see the knight.

"Erza," Mitsu greeted, suggesting she sit down with him. Titania remained standing, which made Mitsu pause for a moment. "Is something the matter?"

"No," Erza said. "You've got your clothes now. It's a good enough look for you."

"Thank you," Mitsu said. "Is there something you need?" Erza remained standing, but she seemed to be in a good enough mood, despite her usually severe countenance still being in place. That is to say, Erza was not scowling, but not really smiling either.

"Come outside with me," the redhead said. "Master suggested I do something, and I agreed."

"Alright," Mitsu said after a brief yawn, "I suppose I should go with you then." The swordsman followed Erza as she discreetly left the guild, without saying a word to anyone. Surprisingly, the pair managed to slip out without Natsu noticing, although if he found out they left, he could probably manage to follow them.

Erza remained silent, and Mitsu had no reason to ask the mage what they were doing. He trusted her. After all, Erza had already saved his life and offered him a family. Soon, they left town and entered the woods outside Magnolia, but Erza kept going for a while yet. By the time they stopped, Erza and Mitsu had probably walked the better part of a mile into the forest. The sun was high in the sky still, but only offered mottled light through the trees, making the area slgihtly dim and cool. The Titania turned to the bladesman, who still had not asked a question. Mitsu felt he had no need to, though he began to wonder what was going on as they trekked farther and farther into the forest.

"So why have we come so far out?" Mitsu finally decided to ask. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and tilted his head slightly as he asked.

"Master Makarov heard that I wanted to spar with you at some time," Erza began. She paused then, expecting Mitsu to say or ask something, but he stoically gestured for her to continue. "And asked that I try to further evaluate your magical abilities. Now that we are in private, away from prying eyes and ears, and before we begin, I want to tell you about some peculiarities the master and I noticed about your magic."

"Okay," Mitsu said, now intrigued, as he had no notion of what they could mean. "Tell me what you know." Erza nodded her head, and then there was a flash of light. Erza now wielded a katana of her own and wore hakama with flames decorating them and some bandages to cover her breasts. Not a moment later, Erza leapt forward, forcing Mitsu to draw his sword rapidly, though he did so with practiced ease and grace. The redhead withdrew without dealing another blow, nodding to herself.

"That was obviously a test of some sort. But for what?" Mitsu asked calmly, resheathing his blade. Erza smirked slightly at the swordsman. He was as skilled as she hoped he would be, and his deductive mind impressed her several times already. This just made her wonder how he could have been injured the way he was when she found him.

"Two things," Erza said, presenting two fingers to Mitsu. "First, I needed to know how strong your reflexes were. Now I know you should be able to spar with me without too great an injury. Second, I had another hunch about the nature of your magic, and that confirmed it."

"Care to explain that now?" Mitsu asked. He caught Erza's eye, and her sword arm seemed to itch. "Of course, I believe I can handle fighting as we talk. That is, assuming you can handle it as well," Mitsu teased slightly. He knew full well that Erza could, just based off that first strike.

Erza's smirk grew as she brought her sword in front of her, gripping it with both hands now. Mitsu returned her smirk as he squatted down, bringing both hands to his blade, ready to draw in an instant. They stared at each other carefully, evaluating each other's stance and position, to see who would strike first. _"He who does not strike first, gets struck first," _an unbidden voice from Mitsu's memory echoed. The swordsman reacted instantly, knowing this voice was that of his master, though how he knew this eluded him.

Mitsu took one quick step forward, drawing his blade with a rapid flourish, and then leapt the remaining distance to Erza, who caught his blade with her own. "First off," Erza said as she pushed Mitsu off. "The fact that I can fight at all with you proves that―" Erza slashed at Mitsu's shoulder, trying to force him to block or jump back. But Mitsu surprised her by ducking underneath the strike and sending a blow to her ribs with the hilt of his sword. "―your magic only nullifies magic itself, not the work the magic does on the world around it. Meaning―" Erza jumped back a few steps before dashing back in and feinting at Mitsu's right side. Mitsu, however, did not take the fake, and countered her true attack before it could connect.

Erza frowned, before requipping to her Black Wing armor. Mitsu's eyes widened briefly, before his smirk grew to a full blown grin. "―that you cannot negate my requip magic by touching the swords or armor. It also means that you could still be harmed by Natsu's magic indirectly, such as if he destroyed something above your head so it would fall on you, or heated the air so greatly that it could sear your lungs," Erza said as she dove down toward her sparring partner. Mitsu leapt backward, making Erza land on the ground. Before Mitsu could retaliate, however, Erza took off once more. Mitsu dashed forward toward one of the trees, and launched himself into its branches.

"Wow," the swordsman remarked as he ran from tree to tree, occasionally jumping across an open space to strike at Erza who flew alongside. "You figured all that out from one blow?"

"Actually," Erza said after swiping at Mitsu, trying to knock him down to the forest floor where he would be easier prey, "I had that mostly figured out before hand. I just needed to confirm it."

"I see," Mitsu commented. "That is impressive, as is your swordsmanship." Mitsu, by no means, outmatched Erza by much in terms of raw skill, but with her added dynamic ability from her armor, Erza forced Mitsu to change tactics. He doubted he could keep up with her for long, unless he found some way to take out her magic, which made Mitsu wish he knew more of her magic's nature.

"I would like to meet the man or woman who taught you," Erza said, "if you ever manage to remember your master." Mitsu leapt straight at Erza, forcing her to veer off course to avoid the collision. Erza knew if he made contact with her skin, this fight would be over. Her equipment's magic was seperate from her own, and so would remain summoned if he made contact, although the magical affect of the equipment would be negated. But if Mitsu touched her skin, it would suppress her own magic, as it did Natsu's, which would result in her armor and weapons returning to her pocket dimension.

"And I wish to meet your teacher," Mitsu stated with a smirk. He had a suspicion now, based off how Erza just reacted to his attack. He flawlessly stepped from branch to branch in the forest and crossed blades with Erza with every leap he took from tree to tree. This winged armor of Erzas possessed incredible agility, and it made it difficult to strike at her and defend himself from her blows. Sparks flew as Mitsu's katana slid along Erza's once more. Mitsu followed the slash with a savage kick, which altered her course and sent her into a tree.

"There is no greater teacher than experience," Erza responded as she cut herself from the ensnaring arms of the tree Mitsu sent her into. For his part, Mitsu could not help but be surprised. Erza was self-taught, and nearly a master in her own right. Mitsu jumped high off the limbs of a tree and, using the sun to obcure himself, dove on Erza from above. The redhead knew Mitsu was up there, and, cursing to herself, began to slice away at the last few limbs holding her captive. Just as she got free, Erza reacted, following her instincts, and stopped Mitsu's katana dead. What her instincts did not guard against, however, was Mitsu releasing one hand from his blade and slamming it on her forehead.

"I am incredibly impressed," Mitsu said, breathing heavily with a massive grin as Erza's armor and sword vanished. Erza cursed and pushed herself away from Mitsu quickly to requip once more.

"You figured it out," Erza said, impressed at how quickly Mitsu picked it up. She jumped at him, swinging her blade vigourously, forcing Mitsu back to the forest floor. Now he was firmly on the defensive without the trees to guard against Erza's surpreme maneuverability. He diverted a stab aimed for his gut, but Erza followed with two brutal follow-up kicks and an overhead blow, which he barely blocked. Mitsu growled in frustration at his inability to counter-attack.

"You avoided my tackle more aggressively than I expected," Mitsu explained as he hustled to guard against Erza's numerous and precise strikes. Erza flew higher in the air, giving Mitsu a very brief reprieve, before diving back to the earth. _"Encourage your oppenent's confidence, and then exploit it," _the memory voice echoed in Mitsu's mind once more. Again, Mitsu understood how that applied in his current circumstances, and acted without reservation, jumping up to meet Erza, and throwing her off with his sudden aggressiveness.

The tide of battle shifted once more as Mitsu kicked Erza to the forest floor. Erza noticed that the longer Mitsu engaged in combat, the better he got, as if he were entering some mindstate or remembering how to fight. In fact, it was not just his skill that increased, he grew physically more capable. His agility grew, and his jumps during attacks sent him higher in the air. Every slash seemed more rapid than the last. The air around Mitsu seemed to shimmer as well. Would this increased ability remain awakened after the fight, or did it only rise during a fight? This was going far better than Erza hoped, but she was slowly beginning to doubt her victory, and she had long since abandoned holding back. But her goal seemed close at hand, and she would accept defeat if it meant a greater victory. Besides, no one was here to see, and Mitsu did not seem the type to boast. Of course, that was assuming Erza did, in fact, lose.

Both combatants were breathing heavily after their well drawn out fight. They stood opposite one another once more between the trees. Erza realized by now that Mitsu outclassed her in skill with the sword, and both thrilled her and infuriated her. She was incredibly competitive by nature, and she knew that. As Erza and Mitsu squared off once again, Erza could sense Mitsu's latent power surging just beneath the surface, but could not comprehend its depth. Mitsu breathed steadily yet heavily as he held his blade in front of him. As he and Erza circled each other for a moment longer, waiting for the next series of blows, Mitsu shook off his coat, leaving him in his sleeveless shirt and bracers, Fairy Tail emblem gleaming in his sweat. _"Your instincts have been honed to serve you. Follow them," _the memory voice whispered once more. Mitsu was definitely fighting his instincts at the moment. His instinctive desire at the moment was to sheath his blade as he did during the early moments of the fight.

After a brief internal struggle, all the while watching Erza carefully, Mitsu quickly sheathed his sword. Erza immediately lunged toward the swordsman, boosted by her armor, to strike a victorious blow. But something clicked within Mitsu when he surrendered to his odd instinctual urge. In the mere fractions of a second that Erza was in the air during her attack, Mitsu stepped forward so quickly Erza never saw his feet move. A flash shone from Mitsu's blade as Erza passed, her attack missing entirely due to Mitsu's rapid movement. Erza's blade had been cut off at the base, leaving her with just the handle. Not a second later, the handle and blade, along with her armor, vanished. Erza turned to see Mitsu standing behind her, his arm extended out gripping his sword. Erza was slightly shaken to find she was unable to use her magic. Mitsu still had not moved, and Erza saw his katana actually held a slight red glow. Finally, Erza saw Mitsu release slowly release a breath as he sheathed his sword. Mitsu then turned around, and Erza noted that his black eyes shared the same red glow as his sword had a moment ago. Then the swordsman blinked and his eyes returned to normal.

"What just happened?" Erza asked her newfound sparring partner. Mitsu thought for a moment, and breathed out slowly before he spoke.

"I heard my master's voice in my head," Mitsu said. "At least, I think it was a memory of my master. I remembered several things he said at some point, but I don't remember anything else. One thing he said was to trust my instincts. I did, and I remember cutting through your sword and stopping your magic, but not how I did it."

"Do you feel tired at all?" Erza asked. Every few moments, she tried to use her magic, but there was still nothing. She remained in her Heart Kruez armor and skirt, despite any attempt to requip. She knew Mitsu was either still suppressing her magic somehow, or the spell he used had a lasting affect.

"From the fight? Sure, I guess so. It was a good fight," Mitsu said with a shrug. Erza knew he would be tired from the fight, to a degree, but... "Why do you ask?"

"When you did, well, whatever it was you did, I sensed a tremendous amount of magical power in you that I couldn't feel before," Erza explained. Mitsu's brow furrowed when Erza said that. Everything was slightly foggy in his memory, mostly because it happened in a fraction of a second, but he did not feel magic like he felt from those around him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mitsu finally admitted. Erza sighed before responding.

"It has something to do with the things I wanted to tell you that the master thought strange," Erza began. "One thing we know for sure after your fight with Natsu is that your ability to negate magic is magical in nature. The single greatest oddity about that is we can't sense any magic in you. Neither master or I knew what to make of it, until Mira made a passing comment. She joked that it was as if something blocked us from sensing your strength. After this just now, I think that is the case. Another possibility that occured to the master was that it was akin to something Natsu has called Dragon Force. Dragon Force is a hidden power that Natsu has unlocked twice now through the consumption of huge amounts of magic power, an ability unique to dragon slayers. Master suggested that, if it were not a block of some kind, it was that the ability never showed itself unless needed, or unlocked. I suppose it is still possible that could be the case, but I lean toward the block now."

Mitsu sat on the ground as he thought on Erza's words. Erza sat in front of him in silence as he sorted things out, still occasionally trying to summon a sword, but without results. The swordsman breathed deep as he thought, his legs crossed underneath him.

"So do you still sense this power?" Mitsu asked the requip mage. Erza nodded her head.

"Yes," she said. "It appears that you broke through a barrier in your mind that partially suppressed your power. The amount of magic has subsided greatly, but you still don't seem to show any signs of magic fatigue, which I find odd." If Erza were honest with herself, she would say she reveled in unraveling a mystery. It took a certain strength of mind to answer such intricate questions. It was a challenge. Erza Scarlet loved challenges.

"Hmm," Mitsu hummed. "I feel slightly different, but I don't know how to use this power. I don't know what kind of magic I use either, so I have no idea how to proceed on learning to use it again."

"But some of your memory seems to have returned, so there may be hope for the rest to come back," Erza reminded. Mitsu waved her off.

"I remembered three things my master said to me," Mitsu said. "Nothing more. Not what he looked like, or where I came from." He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to control his frustration. Neither Erza nor Mitsu said anything for a while.

"Is there some way you could try and tame your power?" Erza finally asked. "I still can't use my requip magic." Mitsu looked at Erza worriedly.

"I'm not trying to do anything," he said, "and frankly, I don't think I am doing anything." Erza pinched the bridge of her nose, before standing up and hitting Mitsu's head. "What the hell?" Mitsu yelled.

"You are completely ignorant of yourself," Erza said. "You have no control over your magic. You're worse than Gildarts, in fact. Fortunately, your magic is not destructive, from what I've seen so far."

"Huh?" Mitsu asked, confused. Erza sighed again, resisted the urge to hit him. One minute, he is deductive and contemplative, the next she cannot get him to understand something simple.

"Look at your skin," Erza instructed. Mitsu did as told, and his eyes widened slightly. "Your body is glowing a slight red, and there is tremendous magic pressure around you right now. How can you not feel your own power?"

"I seriously do not feel any of this power. I can sense your magic easily, but nothing different with me," Mitsu said. Erza's eyes narrowed. How could Mitsu sense her power? She was strong sure, but she kept her strength contained to avoid letting people read her. Only a select few could still detect her strength levels, and they were invariably powerful mages such as her master. What she found still more odd is that he was unable to sense his own power. All mages could sense their own power. It was just how things worked. They simply knew how much they had left. It was as if he had no magic at all. When they used a quantity of magic, they felt the magic leave their body to do work, unless it was an incredibly small amount of magic. Erza's eyes widened slightly as she thought of something, but it was so outlandish she immediately discounted it as impossible.

"Well then, we need to get to master," Erza said. "He might have an idea of how to get your magic under control. As it is, I doubt I will be able to use my magic around you any time soon."

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**AN: **And there is the second chapter for you guys! Thanks for the reviews! I'm happy you like the story so far. Please, don't be afraid to make suggestions, for pairings or plot. They help keep me thinking, and excited about the story. I have literally been unable to work on anything else but this story since the last update. Make sure to leave me a review! It would make my day!


	3. The Crimson Wolf

**The Crimson Wolf**

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**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

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**The Crimson Wolf**

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Erza and Mitsu slowly made their way back toward town with very little conversation between them. Mitsu was troubled about his apparent lack of control, and by the resurgence of his old master's voice in his memories. For her part, Erza contemplated the implications of her discoveries. She was deeply troubled by Mitsu's complete ignorance of his power, and this unsettling feeling set itself in her gut, and would not leave. Of course, she did not fear Mitsu. He was a member of Fairy Tail, even if only for a day, and therefore her nakama. Erza trusted her nakama with her life. That much would never change. But still, she worried. If the power she sensed in that brief moment was no trick of the mind, then Mitsu was shockingly powerful. But he had no idea how to control the power, unlike Gildarts, who simply had difficulty doing so. Mitsu presented a real problem.

By the time the pair returned to the guild hall, the sun rested low in the sky, nearly ready to go beyond the horizon. As they opened the door, Mitsu and Erza noted how eerily quiet it was. Most everyone was still there, but they were talking in hushed tones. The atmosphere was tense enough to cut with a dull table knife, or snap with one more ounce of pressure. Natsu and Gray were still bickering, but it had not progressed to a fight, just hushed words. They glanced up toward where the master rested on the bar. Apparently, Makarov put the kibosh on any kind of fighting, based on how those two were acting. Lucy sat a few tables away from her male teammates, along with Wendy and the other blue-haired girl, Levy. The trio appeared a bit nervous, and sent brief glances toward Mitsu, despite trying not to stare. Mitsu also noticed Gajeel hovering near that table. The iron dragon slayer openly glared at Mitsu, anger burning in his eyes. When Makarov noted Erza and Mitsu had returned, he gestured with his finger for the two of them to come to him.

Before either could say a word, Makarov asked, "What happened?" Mitsu shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to find something to say.

"We were sparring, and everything seemed normal until something happened to Mitsu. His eyes and sword glowed crimson, along with his body, which is, as you see, still glowing dimly, and he did something with his magic that completely voided my own," Erza explained. Mitsu admired her brevity. She summed up everything important in two sentences.

"We noticed the magic problem," Makarov grumbled, shooting a glare at Mitsu, though the swordsman saw no real anger in the master's eyes. "It appears that he shut down every wizard's magic in or around Magnolia." Mitsu and Erza sputtered as they tried to wrap their minds around that. Then Mitsu felt a flood of shame as he realized everything he had done. Disrupting Erza's magic was one thing. She was willing to take the risk when she took him out to fight. The rest of the guild had no such stance on having their magic suppressed. Makarov held his hand up to prevent any premature questions. "I sensed it coming in a wave, but not in time to cast any protective magic. I've already recovered the use of my magic. It seems that those farthest from the epicenter of the event will recover first, as I am not the only one, nor the first. It may be some time until you recover the use of your magic, Erza."

"I'm very sorry, Master Makarov," Mitsu apologized with a deep bow. He began to say more, but Makarov gestured for him to stop.

"Apology accepted. Come with me to my office. We'll discuss this event in detail there," Makarov ordered. "Of course, Erza, you should come as well." Mitsu felt every eye in the hall on his back as he followed the old man.

Once they were in the office, Makarov turned to the two mages. "You really frightened a lot of people, Mitsu. It took me quite a bit of time to convince the brats that we weren't being attacked," he said with a slow sigh. "If we elect to do any future experiments, you two must go farther from town." The old man rubbed his face tiredly. "Much farther."

"I realize that, sir, and I deeply regret my lack of control," the swordsman apologized again. "I understand if you want me to leave. I never wanted to scare anyone. I don't want any of them to fear or hate me for this, or either of you for letting me in Fairy Tail." Mitsu meant what he said, even though most of it was in fear of rejection. He sought a home, and he thought he found one at Fairy Tail. But he absolutely did not want to put the guild at risk, or make them fear him. Makarov stared at the man he dubbed "Bladesman Mitsu" for an achingly long time.

But before the guild master spoke up, Erza stepped forward and slapped him with her gauntlet clad hand. Mitsu held his own hand to his bleeding cheek, and looked at Erza questioningly. If she felt she needed to slap him for his offense, why wait until now? "You are a member of Fairy Tail. You did not cause purposeful harm to your nakama, and you will not insult them by suggesting they will reject you for an accident," the Titania said firmly, adding in a glare for good measure. Mitsu bowed his head as he understood Erza's reasoning.

"I will not be throwing you out, boy," Makarov said after letting Mitsu think for a moment. "As Erza said, you did not do this on purpose, and, other than a scare, you did no real harm. Nobody was physically harmed by this occurrence. Needless to say, I had to explain that you were responsible for this fiasco to calm everyone down. And there are some that do fear you, and some that are angry, but all that will fade with time. The angry will vent, forget, or forgive, just as the afraid will. You will learn this in time." The old man's words lifted Mitsu's spirits, and he nodded his head firmly. Erza smirked slightly, glad that her newfound sparring partner had lightened up.

"Thank you," Mitsu said. "I am still sorry about this, and I will do whatever I must to make amends, but thank you for easing my mind, sir."

"We'll have to figure something out about you. Both in terms of your magical control, and your damned politeness," Makarov said jokingly. "Anyway, I want more details from the pair of you, away from the extra ears." Erza looked at Mitsu for a moment, and gestured for him to begin.

"I suppose it has something to do with a few returning memories," Mitsu began. "I didn't remember much, and I doubt it was very important. What I remembered was my old master telling me several things. It was mostly philosophical stuff, but what triggered it was me remembering him telling me to trust the instincts I trained. When I released myself to instinct, I sheathed my sword in the middle of combat for a draw attack. In the next fraction of a second, I apparently sent out the wave of magic that zeroed everyone else's power."

"Hmm," Makarov said as he stroked his chin. "What did you see on your end, Erza?" The requip mage collected her thoughts before responding.

"There were several things that I found peculiar throughout our fight," Erza began. "Initially, I brushed them off as tricks of my mind, or him getting back in the flow of battle. But after reflecting on the fight during our trek home, and considering Mitsu's own experience as relayed to me, I believe my first impression was accurate. That is, the longer we fought, the faster and stronger Mitsu got." Mitsu turned to look at Erza, surprised that was the case. The entire time, until the final moments, he felt he was barely keeping up with Erza, but according to her he grew more capable as the fight progressed.

"Is that so?" Makarov asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes," Erza replied. "I believe that his magic was awakening in order to surpass me in combat. Mitsu had the edge on me, so I requipped to increase my mobility so I could outmaneuver him. Shortly after that, he began to increase in ability. Additionally, since some degree of his magic is released now, I believe this increase in ability should still remain, until the power vanishes."

"You think his magic amplified his abilities to counter your own increased proficiency?" Makarov clarified. Erza nodded her head to confirm her words. "That is rather," Makarov paused as he searched for the word he wanted, "curious."

"How do you think I feel?" Mitsu asked. "This is the first I've heard of it." Erza glanced at the swordsman for a moment, but did not say anything to him. Mitsu wondered about that. Was Erza trying to tell him something? Or was she thinking of saying something, but hesitating?

"Eventually, I think this power escalated enough to unlock whatever sealed his magic away, or at least unlocked some part of it," Erza continued. "Right before the wave itself wiped out the magic, I jumped at him to try and strike before he could use his draw attack." Erza shook her head as she remembered. "He wasn't even a blur. One moment, Mitsu was in front of me, ready to attack. The next, all of my magic power was nullified, and he had sliced my sword's blade from its handle."

"He cut the blade, and you noticed this before it vanished to your pocket dimension," Makarov mumbled. "It seems to me that Mitsu broke your blade before the pulse disrupted our magic." Did Makarov think that detail important? That appeared to be the case, since he mentioned it.

"In that instant, I felt a surge of magic power from him, where previously there was no indication of magic at all," Erza continued. "I have never felt a magic such as that."

"In what sense?" Mitsu asked, curious.

"I'm not entirely sure. There was tremendous power, but I've felt Etherion so I can't say I've never experienced anything like it before," Erza said.

"It was on par with Etherion?" Makarov asked loudly in his shock. Mitsu had no idea what Etherion was, but it sounded important and was likely powerful, based on the master's reaction.

"I didn't feel it for long," Erza said, "but it was not nearly that strong. I used Etherion as a reference to prove my prior experiences with magic power. That spell has a very unique feel to it. Anyway, I don't know the precise depth of Mitsu's magic nor the magnitude of its power, but it was impressive. What caught my attention was the aura of the magic. It felt strange. Foreign. It was different, right at the core, from almost any magic I've felt before."

"Almost?" Makarov questioned. "So it did remind you of something." Erza nodded slowly as she reflected.

"It reminded me of dragon slayer magic," she finally said. "It wasn't slayer magic, of course, but it had a similar feel. Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel's magic feels different from our more modern magic. It's older, ancient even. Everything about the nature of dragon slayer magic is abnormal when compared to our spells. Mitsu's magic had the same feel of abnormality to it."

"It is a lost magic then?" Makarov said. "Dragon slayer magic is, indeed, hundreds of years old, and forgotten by all mankind. The recent slayers only know it from their dragons' teachings, just how legend suggests the original slayers learned it."

"I have no doubt that it is a lost magic," Erza agreed. "Even so, it was incredibly similar to dragon slayer magic. It has the same fundamental base, but it felt more sharply focused in nature. Forgive me, it is hard to describe properly. I only sensed it for a very small amount of time."

"No," Makarov said, "you've done well Erza. No need to apologize." Mitsu agreed, but did not say anything. He was shocked that Erza managed to wean all that from that brief moment of exposure. Makarov slowly stroked his chin and moustache as he remained deep in thought. There was a lot of information to sort through in his head.

"So," Mitsu began, breaking the silence, "what does that mean, my magic being lost?"

"It means, more than likely, that your magic is incredibly old, and previously forgotten by the majority of mankind," Erza explained.

"Is there something else besides it being old?" Mitsu asked, slightly frustrated. He brushed one of his bangs from his face as he breathed out slowly.

"I'm afraid not," Makarov said with a frown on his face. "Lost magic is diverse. There is, supposedly, a surprising amount of forgotten magical practices. Regardless of scholarly suspicion, there is enough magic recorded in history but lost in practice to know that the spectrum of this lost magic ranges from destructive dragon slayer magic to subtle dispelling magic, such as the Moon Drip spell. So we can't just assume something solely based on it being lost, other than it being old." The scowl Mitsu did not know he had deepened as Makarov's words registered in his head.

"Well then, what should I do in the meanwhile?" Mitsu demanded. Makarov sighed. Mitsu had every right to be frustrated, but his emotions affected his magic in its uncontrolled state, and flared its effects.

"Before we try to discover anything else about your magic, you need to somehow learn how to control it, or restore whatever barrier was once in place that prevented your magic from bleeding out," Makarov said instantly. "If you don't manage that, nobody around you will be able to use their magic. I have recovered from your earlier pulse, but I am unable to use my magic without tremendous effort with you around." Mitsu blinked several times blankly. He had completely forgotten about his rampant magic, but was surprised to find it projected a nullifying aura in the immediate area.

"Oh, of course," Mitsu said, shaking his head. "What should I do? I have no idea where to begin." Mitsu noticed Erza turn to look at the master. She, apparently, was also clueless as to how to solve this problem.

"Different things work for different people," Makarov began. "Many mages never encounter this problem, but it can be solved easily, in most cases, by the rapid expenditure of their magic power. This can be risky, as it can result in magical exhaustion. However, that is not even a option with you." Mitsu understood exactly why that was the case. After all, he had no idea how to use his magic consciously, so how could he expend it at all, much less rapidly? To top it off, if he did that, it would likely result in everyone being without their magic for who knows how long.

"So what else is there?" Mitsu asked the guild master. Makarov paced back and forth as he thought.

"Well, with that first option being impossible, I would immediately suggest some magical aid in suppressing the magic. Of course, that won't work on you either. Why must you be so difficult?" Makarov joked, bringing a small smirk to Mitsu and Erza's faces. Erza always respected how well Makarov managed the guild's members. "Anyway, some other off base and wild ideas being cast aside, I would suggest you attempt meditation."

"Meditation, huh?" Mitsu asked. Makarov nodded his head.

"Yes, meditation," the old man said. "Attempt to enter a meditative state where you block out your surroundings. Once within this state, attempt to feel for your magic within yourself. Should you find it, try and pull it back within your body. Do _not _try to do anything else in town, or anywhere near town for that matter. Having enough control to keep magic within yourself is one thing. Having the control to prevent your magic from having unintended consequences is another entirely. So if you manage to restrain your power, don't attempt anything else. Tell me if you have any trouble, whether it be finding your power, or restraining it."

"I understand, master," Mitsu said, bowing slightly. Makarov grunted, slightly annoyed by the bow.

"Where did this suggestion come from, master?" Erza asked, tilting her head slightly. "I have heard of meditation to help increase magic power, though most everyone I have heard of that attempted it found it fruitless. But I have never heard of meditation applied to control magic." Makarov turned his head to look at the mages with a knowing smile on his face.

"Not all mages are blessed with great power alongside the ability to control it with ease, such as yourself, my dear. These mages often keep this to themselves, though never understood why," Makarov said. "One such mage is our dear Gildarts. He, to my knowledge, pioneered many aspects of this practice to control his power enough to be around people. Of course, he has yet to fully master this application of meditation himself, to my knowledge, but it has clearly proved its merits." Erza nodded her head, seeming to accept this explanation as legitimate. But Mitsu had no idea what that signified.

"Who is this Gildarts guy?" Mitsu asked. "Both of you have mentioned him before, but I haven't seen him around the guild." Erza smirked slightly and shook her head as Makarov prepared to answer.

"Gildarts is considered to be the most powerful, and definitely the most destructive, of our mages," Makarov explained.

"His power dwarfs my own," Erza added. She did not seem to begrudge this fact anymore than she would wish the sky to be green. It was as if this was a fact of life.

"Gildarts has been on a SSS class mission, often called a hundred-year quest," Makarov said. "That is why you haven't seen him. He has not stepped foot in the guild in years. Even before leaving on that job, Gildarts still was hardly around, always on jobs."

"A hundred-year quest?" Mitsu asked. Erza nodded her head.

"Named so because they are said to take one hundred years to complete. Of course, very few of these requests are ever taken due to their extreme difficulty," the redhead explained. Mitsu squinted slightly as he thought. Obviously, the quest could not _actually _take a century to complete. That was just an intimidating name. Even though Mitsu had no gauge, due to his lack of experience, he still knew this quest would be nigh impossible. He had the sneaking suspicion Gildarts was not the first mage to attempt it.

"How do you know Gildarts will make it back?" Mitsu asked carefully. Erza looked out the window suddenly, and Makarov stared at the floor, answering his question with his silence. Nobody would say it, but they were afraid Gildarts was not going to return, and might already be dead. Mitsu thought he should apologize, but decided against it in favor of dropping the subject.

The room remained silent for several minutes as the mages' endured the heavy atmosphere Mitsu's question produced. Mitsu decided to break the quiet, and cleared his throat. "Master?"

"Yes?" Makarov asked, glad to have been broken from his somber thoughts.

"May I stay in the guild hall tonight so I can meditate?" Mitsu asked. "Truthfully, I think rain is coming tonight anyway, and I'm nearly positive Natsu's roof is not watertight." Makarov chuckled.

"It isn't," Erza clarified for Mitsu. "But Natsu doesn't really care." All three mages laughed at Natsu's unwitting expense.

"I plan on setting up a camp, and eventually building a house, out in the east woods where Erza and I sparred earlier," Mitsu said after his laughter died. "It was nice out there, and I can do some level of experimenting with my magic if I'm that far removed from town. But until then, I would like to stay here. It won't be for long. I can get things together for a campsite tomorrow."

"Sure," Makarov said, still chuckling slightly, "you have my permission to stay in the guild for the time being. Feel free to take a bed in the infirmary. If you need help selecting a good spot for your camp, don't hesitate to ask someone here for help. In fact, someone may be willing and able to help you build your house, when the time for that comes. We're pretty accommodating, as I'm sure you've noticed by now."

"Thank you, master," Mitsu said with a pleasant smile on his face. Makarov inclined his head toward the bladesman.

"It is not policy to allow members to stay the night in most cases, unless they are badly drunk and it is dangerous for them to leave," Makarov said. "But who cares about policy anyway?" Mitsu chuckled at the master's attitude. Makarov was definitely easygoing, provided the situation was not too serious. He had already treated Mitsu far better than the bladesman thought he deserved.

"Cana certainly spends the night here often enough," Erza quipped with a smirk. "And then there are the really wild parties. I'm amazed that the people who go home after those events can walk at all, much less make it home." Mitsu had yet to experience such a celebration, but he had the feeling that he would before long.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss, Master Makarov?" Mitsu asked eventually. Makarov shook his head.

"Nothing that I can think of," he said. "You both can return to the hall, in fact I'll come too. I need a drink anyway. " With that, all three of the mages left the office and walked back to the main hall, Makarov heading straight for his place on the bar.

Mitsu was pleased to see that, during the course of their discussion, the guild had lightened up. It seemed quite a few more of the mages had regained the use of their power, spreading relief throughout the hall as everyone began to truly believe their magic would return soon, if it had not already.

"Good," Erza muttered, "they've nearly returned to normal." Right after she finished speaking, Natsu and Gray, who were already arguing, began to pound each other, dragging several people into the brawl.

"Their fine," Makarov grumbled. "Damn brats. I suppose I should thank Natsu." Fire roared, nearly singing Makarov's moustache, causing the master to sigh. "Or maybe not." Mitsu chuckled at Natsu's typical explosive attitude as he casts his gaze across the great hall. Most everything seemed back to normal, though Gajeel was still glaring at him.

Mitsu soon spied an empty table some distance away from the others, and turned to Makarov and Erza. "I'm going to go on ahead and try to meditate. Hopefully, I won't cause any more issues," he said. Erza nodded her head, before heading off toward a table of her own.

"Best of luck, lad," Makarov said. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, eventually. Just keep patient, no matter what. You won't get anything done if you allow yourself to get frustrated." Mitsu nodded his head, muttering a thank you.

As he made his way slowly to the abandoned table, he felt several of his guildmates' eyes on his back, but the few gazes he caught did not seem malicious or afraid, but curious. He sighed in relief. Mitsu still had problems believing, for whatever reason, that his nakama would forgive him so easily. Of course, he still noticed some were openly glaring at or shying away from him.

Mitsu shook his head as he climbed on top of the table. The swordsman crossed his legs and brought them close to his body. Within another moment, his long coat sat crumpled up next to him on the table, revealing his well muscled arms and sleeveless shirt. If someone were to look closely enough, they would notice his equally sculpted chest through the well-fitted shirt. After rolling his shoulders a few times to loosen them up, Mitsu set his forearms against his knees, his hands hanging in thin air. Taking a deep, calming breath, Mitsu closed his eyes. He continued to breathe deeply, but did not know if he should be doing something else.

He heard some rustling, and something heavy being set on the table in front of him, so Mitsu cracked one eye open to see Cana, who was apparently getting some more barrels of booze to drink when he walked in the room. Mitsu did not know why, but she decided to sit on the table, facing him. She smiled when she realized she caught his attention, but reached for a drink rather than talking. Mitsu returned the smile and then closed his eye once more.

It seemed that Cana was not the slightest bit bothered by his epic screw up, which brought another gentle smile to his face. Mitsu cracked his right eye open once more. "Thank you," he said, hoping she would understand what he meant. The card mage smiled at him again, and offering him a thumbs up, took another drought of her beer. Mitsu's smile grew for a moment before he reminded himself to focus.

Mitsu was utterly lost on what to do, and every time he thought he was making some kind of progress some noise from another fight or loud laughter distracted him. Just as Mitsu's frustration was about to burst, Cana said, "Remember to keep your breathing deep, calm, and steady." Mitsu resists the urge to open his eye or thank her so he can focus on taking her advice. Air rushed in through his nose, and slipped out of his mouth, eventually settling into a rhythm. This rhythm soon synchronized with his heartbeat, and, slowly but surely, all the background noise faded away to nothing. The only thing Mitsu noticed was Cana as she set her heavy barrels down and offered soft-spoken advice and encouragement. Within another few moments, even the champion drinker faded from his senses, leaving Mitsu alone within himself.

The bladesman found himself adrift within the cavern of his mind for a moment, not feeling anything other than the constant presence of the table beneath him. Mitsu felt as though he were entirely disconnected from the world around him. Eventually, Mitsu even suppresses the feeling of the table.

Within a moment of his last worldly sensation fading, Mitsu is surrounded on all sides by a forest that felt ancient, with trees that dwarfed anything the swordsman had seen around Magnolia, or during his brief time traveling before he was attacked. He could smell the grass and trees, and feel the wind play with his long hair. For an instant, Mitsu thought he had fallen asleep, but before he tried to rouse himself he felt the still steady beat of his heart and vaguely heard Cana's breathing in the background, as if it were a part of his own rhythm.

Mitsu stared in wonder at the encompassing forest when he realized he was not dreaming. On a whim, he decides to try and step forward, without moving his physical body, and easily moves around in this massive forest. Mitsu felt this place was familiar to him, and something within himself told him this was his own mind. Knowledge flowed into Mitsu; information about this place and how to navigate it. This was his mindscape, and, though the gap in his memory as to its purpose remained unfilled, Mitsu was ecstatic at finding such success in his meditation.

Grasping some of his newfound knowledge, Mitsu willed his surroundings to change, and he soon found himself in an eerily empty guild hall. Truthfully, he half expected to see himself sitting on the table, but he was not there. Mitsu reminded himself that he was in his mind, and that nobody would be there. Or at least, nobody _should _be there.

Remembering his purpose, Mitsu tries to identify the source of his magic, hoping it would be in his mind. He physically walked all around his mindscape guild hall, but found nothing of note. Mitsu assumed he would know his power when he saw it, and doubted it was disguised as an abandoned mug on the counter. Taking another deep breath to restrain his frustration at his lack of success, Mitsu thought to drastically reduce his search area and willed his surroundings to vanish. When he opened his mind's eye, he saw nothing but white all around him. There was no floor beneath his feet, nor anything else around him for that matter. That included his magic. It was nowhere in sight. Mitsu battled his frustration and lost his focus on maintaining the white.

When Mitsu opened his mental eyes again, he found himself back in the forest. He sighed in disappointment and decided to pack his proverbial bags and quit. But right before he released his meditative state, he heard a small noise, a snapping twig, within his mind. Mitsu turned his head toward the origin of the noise, and spies a very large crimson furred wolf padding around one of the colossal trees. The wolf was easily as large as Mitsu, but he did not feel any fear. Mitsu tilted his head as the wolf slowly approached him, wondering what this was and why it was in his mind. As the wolf continued its steady approach, Mitsu realized this canine was a part of him. How could something that was a part of him possibly threaten him? Once this occurred to the bladesman, the wolf stopped its movement right in front of him, staring him dead in the eye, even though it sat on its haunches.

Shortly after that, the wolf bowed its head, as if it wished to be petted as a dog would be. Mitsu slowly brought his right hand up to the wolf's massive head. He felt himself shudder slightly in anticipation, though he did not know why. When his hand finally made contact with the wolf's coarse fur, Mitsu felt a rush of power surge through his body. The surrounding forest was flooded with red magic, though it appeared entirely benign. That is when Mitsu realized that this wolf was the mental or spiritual manifestation of his magic. Mitsu notices the wolf staring at him stoically. The beast's eyes held a startling amount of intelligence. The wolf continues to stare at him knowingly, as if expecting him to do something, but Mitsu does not know how to proceed.

Before Mitsu could even try anything, he sensed someone touching his physical body. He released his control over his breathing and opened his eyes to see Cana shaking his shoulder lightly. Her eyes looked at his expectantly, and he smiled at her. Cana returned the smile.

"It's dark outside now, and most of the guild has left," she said. "Mira told me to make sure you ate dinner."

"How long was I at it?" Mitsu asked, having had no sense of time while in his mindscape. Cana nodded her head with a knowing smirk and, if Mitsu was not mistaken, a small amount of pride on her face.

"Six, almost seven, hours," Cana said, impressed. Mitsu's eyes widened in disbelief, but then as more feeling returned to his body, he believed it. His limbs tingled slightly from having been completely still for so long and his joints were stiff.

"Wow," Mitsu said, "I didn't expect that. Um, did it work?" Cana arched a brow, then smirked.

"You mean suppressing your magic?" the card mage asked. "That happened about five hours ago." Mitsu had to catch his jaw before it hit the floor. "Yea, everyone that hadn't gotten their magic back by then, including Erza, had their power returned to them simultaneously. When that happened, your aura started glowing much brighter and pulsing rhythmically. I think the old man wanted to talk to you about it, but he already left for the night."

"Why would the old man, I mean, Master Makarov want to talk to me?" Mitsu asked. Frankly, he had already had more than his fill of long conversations with the guild master. And every one of them was tense, though that was not the master's fault.

"Because almost everyone could feel the magic power rolling off of you in waves," Cana said. "Before then, nobody felt any magic at all from you, even when you walked in like some kind of red light lacrima earlier today." Cana let that set in Mitsu's mind for a moment with a smirk on her face. "So, what did you do? I guess you found your magic? Did you remember any spells?" Cana fired off rapidly. Mitsu held his hand up to stop her from asking anything else as he tried to wrap his head around it. How long had he been touching the wolf? It felt like a few short moments, but, with what Cana just told him, it seemed like he had been in contact with it for hours. What happened during that time?

"Well, I don't really know where to start," Mitsu said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll go get some food first, I guess." Cana waved him toward Mira, then picked up her barrel to take another drink. Mitsu shook his head. The woman must have done something to her liver, probably with magic, to allow her to drink so much.

"Go ahead," Cana said with a burp. "I'll be right here when you figure it out." Mitsu chuckled a bit. He knew beyond any doubt that he wanted to tell Cana everything he could about his experience. He probably would not have managed it without her help; in fact, Mitsu was sure of it.

When he finally made it to the bar, Mirajane turned to him with a smile. "So you're finally done trying to light up the room for us?" she giggled. Mitsu felt his face burn slightly as she laughed at his expense.

"Was it really that bright?" Mitsu asked the takeover mage.

"Well, it wouldn't have been enough to read by at night, but anyone would have been able to navigate the guild hall by your light," Mira answered, still chuckling to herself. "I assume you want some food?" Mitsu nodded his head meekly in reply, making Mira's ever present smile grow slightly. "I've got some roast beef and potatoes over here for you, if that sounds good," she said.

"That sounds delicious," Mitsu said. Mira walked off for a moment, and returned with a plate of meat and potatoes. Mitsu's mouth began to water. He did not realize he was that hungry, but with such good looking food in front of him, his stomach begged to be filled. Mira handed him the food with a smile, saying he could pay after he finished his first job, as with the rest of his previous meals. "Thank you, Mira," Mitsu said, bowing his head slightly.

"Think nothing of it," the white-haired beauty replied. "Just don't let Cana convince you to try a drink. She spiked those barrels with some of her special liquor. That stuff will knock you flat on your back." Mitsu's eyes widened as he glanced to see Cana chugging away, then returned his gaze to Mira.

"Thanks for the warning," the bladesman said. Mirajane giggled again and gestured for him to go on ahead and eat. As Mitsu walked back to his table, he shook his head. That woman was so bubbly it nearly seemed fake, yet he sensed every mannerism Mirajane possessed was genuine. How could anyone stay so perpetually cheerful?

As Mitsu set his food down on the table, Cana stopped him from sitting on the actual chair. "Come on up here again," she said. "It's better to look in someone's eyes when you talk to them." Cana's eyes looked a little glazed, but she was still lucid enough and had yet to begin slurring her words.

"Alright, I suppose," Mitsu agreed quickly, climbing up to sit in his previous position across from Cana. He began to dig into his food when Cana stayed quiet, only drinking occasionally. Mitsu assumed she meant to let him eat first. That, or she was too occupied with her drink to bother talking yet. When he brought a piece of his roast beef to his mouth, Mitsu had to stop himself from moaning. The meat was succulent, to say the least, and he barely stopped himself from shoving the rest of the beef down his throat. The mashed potatoes were, unsurprisingly, good as well, but not nearly as delicious as the roast beef was. It was official, this was his favorite dish. He would order it every time he ate in the guild.

Before he knew it, Mitsu found himself satisfied, but still looking at the empty plate mournfully. He was full, but would gladly accept more of that meat. He set the plate to the side, and collected his thoughts as he waited for Cana to indicate she was ready to listen. The now solidly drunk woman set her booze down, and smiled at the swordsman.

"Alright," she said, surprisingly without slurring her words, "tell me what happened. And don't say nothing, because I can tell if you lie." Even though Cana still had power over her tongue, Mitsu could tell the alcohol was affecting her thoughts slightly. He doubted she could tell he was lying sober, not that he would lie to her.

"As you saw, it took me a bit of time to figure out the meditation thing," Mitsu began. Cana nodded her head and took another swig of her beer. "Well, once I finally managed to block out my surroundings, I found myself wandering within my mind. I was in a forest at first."

"Wait, you were in a forest?" Cana asked. "You said that right? I don't think I'm that drunk... yet."

"Yes, that's what I said," Mitsu replied. Cana's eyes widened slightly.

"A mindscape," she muttered. "I've heard of it, but I've never known anyone who could attain it. Never even got close to it myself." Cana's face twisted as she thought about it. Then she shook her head and took a long drink. "The only way that should be possible is if you used to meditate a lot. Like, a whole lot. We're talking years here. Mindscapes take crazy amounts of time, effort, and practice to develop. You must have subconsciously remembered how to access it as you meditated." Mitsu stroked his slightly stubbly chin as he thought about that. It was possible, he supposed. After all, he still had very little memory, and therefore no idea what he did before he woke up in captivity. And he did feel confident he could return to that mind state much easier now, but that could just be wishful thinking.

"Well, I didn't know that was so important," Mitsu said. Cana nodded her head, but kept her other thoughts on the matter to herself for the moment. She would tell Gramps when she saw him. Cana knew that a mindscape took more than a few years to develop. She remembered reading that it took decades to accomplish. Men meditated all their lives, striving to attain this mastery over their mind. And Mitsu could not be more than eighteen or nineteen years old. Frankly, it made no sense whatsoever.

"It is," Cana assured him, taking another drink before continuing. "So what did you see there?" Mitsu reflected for a moment.

"Well, as I said, the first thing I saw was this forest. It seemed incredibly old. The trees dwarfed anything around here," Mitsu said. Cana immediately thought of the Tenrou Tree, wondering how these trees compared to that titan among foliage. "I wandered around there for a little while before I realized I was within my mind, rather than dreaming. Then I wished for the scene to change, and I found myself in an empty guild hall. That was somewhat spooky," he commented. "Imagine this whole building, but with no noise or people in it at all." Cana tried to imagine it, but was too drunk to bother trying hard at it. Nevertheless, the idea seemed disconcerting to her. "That was when I remembered why I wanted to meditate in the first place, and I looked everywhere I could think of for my magic. I didn't find it in the guild hall, so I tried to imagine myself surrounded by nothing, hoping the magic would be easier to find if there was nothing there."

"And that worked," Cana said with her head in a barrel of booze. Mitsu shook his head, even though Cana could not see the motion.

"No, it didn't," Mitsu said. "I got frustrated and lost my concentration on maintaining that scene. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the forest from before." Mitsu paused for a moment as he tried to put words to what he saw. "I was about to give up then, but I heard something, which sounds so weird because there was no actual sound. It was only in my head. Still, it felt real enough." Mitsu realized he was rambling. "Anyway, I turned to see where the sound came from, and saw a wolf that was as large as or larger than I was in my mindscape. It had crimson fur and was glowing slightly. It wasn't hostile at all, and I didn't feel scared in the slightest, even though it would have been able to tear me to pieces if it were real."

"A wolf within your mind?" Cana said. "I wonder if that has some kind of meaning." Mitsu shook his head, and Cana shrugged before taking a drink and gesturing for him to continue.

"It was significant, but I don't think it had any special meaning," Mitsu said. "Something told me, I guess my memories, or the wolf itself, that it was a part of me. The thing padded over to me and sat in front of me. Even sitting, its eyes were level with my own. I felt it wanted me to touch it, so I did. When my hand touched its head, red magic burst from both of us and flowed all around the surrounding forest." Cana put her hand out, asking for Mitsu to stop for a moment. She took a drink.

"About how long do you think you wandered in the forest the first time, and looked around the guild for your magic?" the brunette asked. Mitsu thought, but he had no real idea how long.

"I thought it took a long time, but not the six or seven hours you say I was out," Mitsu said with a shrug. "I don't really know for sure." Cana rolled her eyes.

"I bet you looked for it for a little less than two hours, and encountered the wolf around five hours ago," she said. Mitsu smiled when she reached the same conclusion he had.

"I was touching the wolf for hours," Mitsu said, stating aloud the conclusion both of them had reached. "I didn't realize it until you told me how long I had been meditating. The odd thing is, I thought I only touched his head for thirty seconds, at the most."

"Well with the glowing red magic around you, we knew something was going on in that thick skull of yours," Cana laughed. "You surprised the old man, by the way."

"How so?" Mitsu asked. He doubted he could possibly hold any more surprises for Makarov, or that anything he did would shock the master at this point.

"I think he suggested the meditation in hopes that you calm your mind and body a bit. He probably thought that controlling your body would bring your magic under control. And there is no way he expected the results you got," Cana said. "Normal people can't do that, and if they can, it takes them years, like I said." She still withheld the details concerning mindscapes and hoped Mitsu would not ask. Cana did not know how well she could keep her tongue silent as she got more drunk. She took another drought anyway.

"By the way, how do you know so much about meditation?" Mitsu asked his friend. Cana tapped her chin several times as she tried to remember in her drunken state.

"Believe it or not," she finally said, "I used to meditate a lot. It can help develop magic power if you concentrate on doing so. Didn't help me too much. Of course, it's also calming." Mitsu arched an eyebrow at her comment. He could sense that Cana was fairly strong. Not on par with Erza and Natsu, but still quite strong. Still, Mitsu could tell she was telling the truth about the meditation not increasing her strength very much. Which begged the question, why did Cana really meditate? Her knowledge on the subject was greater than that of someone who gave it a shot to increase their strength. He decided against asking her though.

"Really?" Mitsu asked. "And I thought you calmed yourself through drinking," he joked. Cana shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Booze is good for the thirsty," Cana said. "And it does nothing to calm me down." Mitsu felt uncomfortable when he saw Cana licking her lips while eyeballing him. He finally turned his gaze elsewhere, causing Cana to laugh. When Mitsu turned back toward her, she was chugging her barrel of beer. He stared at her for a while, thinking that Cana was definitely beautiful, if lacking in manners. Cana set her now empty barrel down, and caught Mitsu looking at her.

"Hey, quit staring and make a move already," she said with a devious, drunken smirk. Mitsu's eyes nearly shot out of his head and he fell right off the table as he scrambled away sputtering out excuses and apologies.

"Ow," he groaned in pain, and then he heard Cana giggle. _"Wait, Cana giggled?" _Mitsu thought to himself. He pulled himself back on to the table. "I was not doing or thinking anything," Mitsu stated firmly. Cana outright laughed in his face.

"Oh really?" she asked. "It looked like you were ogling me. But I'm sure I was just mistaken." The card mage chuckled again, her face slightly red, though from her booze or something else, Mitsu did not know. Mitsu scratched the back of his head and tried to look anywhere but at Cana.

"Yea, really," Mitsu said. "I was just thinking." Cana smirked again, and Mitsu dreaded her comeback. The chick got witty when she was drunk.

"And you just said you weren't thinking," she mused. "Anyway, I'm going home. Goodnight, Mitsu." Mitsu fought the urge to sigh in relief. This woman was driving him nuts.

"Goodnight, Cana," the bladesman responded. Cana stumbled slightly as she got off the table, and Mitsu wondered if she could even make it back home. But she soon recovered and managed to avoid bumping into anything on her way out the door, so he figured Cana would be fine.

Mitsu remained on the table as he reflected briefly on his experience. With everything that happened, along with Cana stating he was apparently skilled at meditation made him wonder once again who he was. He was a superb swordsman and meditator, and probably a powerful mage as well. How did he accomplish that in so short a lifetime? He knew he was young, probably less than twenty. And why would his magic take the form of a wolf within his mind?

Mitsu realized he would find no answers sitting on that table, and resolved to speak with Master Makarov about this in the morning, if the master was available. With that in mind, Mitsu wandered his way into the infirmary and crawled into bed after taking his boots off. Sleep eluded him for a while until he decided to try and use some meditative techniques to fall asleep. The irony of using meditation to forget meditation so he could sleep was not lost on Mitsu. He decided to ignore it though. Soon, his mind drifted into the land of dreams.

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**AN: **Hey all! Before I ask you your thoughts on the chapter, I have a more important question. I may put a poll up for it, but I doubt it. You all know the members of Fairy Tail very well, I'm sure. And I've done my level best to develop Mitsu well, and make it so you know him. To that end, I wondered if my dear readers would appreciate a character profile for Mitsu in the next chapter. I can put it together fairly easily if you want it. It would provide all the information you currently know (not everything I know) about Mitsu, including descriptions, character traits, personality, and magic. Of course, as I reveal more about Mitsu, I will update this profile, though I may not post the most recent profile until there is a significant enough change. So, are you interested? If so, PM me, or review. Either way is fine.

Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Not much action, but that is for the next two chapters. Tell me if you spy anything that seems wrong (spelling, grammar, OOCness), and I will try and fix it. Not that for OOC issues, it may be intentional, in which case I won't change it. Also, any thoughts on the title change? I felt it needed to be done. Be sure to check out the small additions I made to the beginning and end of the first chapter if you haven't already seen them. Don't worry about finding them, they are in italics and centered. Please tell me what you think about that as well.

Thanks for reading! (Both the story, and the extra long AN) :D


	4. The Nullified Crash

**The Crimson Wolf**

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**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

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**The Nullified Crash**

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Mitsu yawned as he watched people slowly filtered into the guild from his bar stool. He knew Makarov wanted to speak with him. Again. It was becoming redundant. Mira roped him into helping pass around breakfast, saying it would help cut down on his debt. The swordsman had no pride that would be harmed by the honest work, so he agreed. The two chatted as they worked, though there were no truly important words passed between them. Before long, Makarov walked in. "Mira, Master Makarov just walked in, and I'm pretty sure I need to speak to him. I'll help you out some more right after I finish," Mitsu said. Mira smiled cheerily, as always.

"Don't worry about cutting the conversation short on my account," she said. "I've handled this crowd before, and I can handle them again."

"Still, I'll be more than happy to help if I can," Mitsu said.

"I'm sure the pay helps that attitude," Mirajane said, cracking a smile. Mitsu smiled in return and shook his head.

"Of course, but it would be a pleasure even without it," Mitsu said. Makarov jumped up on the bar and sat down.

"Stop flirting already," the old man grumbled. Mirajane and Mitsu turned a bit red, but decided against responding. Nothing they would say would help anyway. Mitsu sat down on another bar stool near Makarov with his back to the bar, and leaned back so he could see the small man out of the corner of his eye. Makarov was still grumbling to himself; apparently he was _not _a morning person. Mitsu decided to give him a few minutes to adjust himself, and settled in to watch the area for a while. He felt a bit guilty since he could have been helping Mirajane out, but he got over it when he saw her smiling at everyone.

Then Makarov cracked his neck and sighed. Mitsu turned to see the guild master looking at him expectantly. "Good morning," Mitsu said. The old man grunted.

"Just start talking," Makarov said. Mitsu had no idea what to say at first, so he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Cana mentioned last night that you wanted to speak with me about my, uh, glowing," Mitsu said. Makarov nodded his head groggily.

"Spare me the gory details," he said. "I saw all the fireworks, and, while impressive, they did not harm the guild. Your business is your own as long as you don't harm your nakama. As long as you manage to keep that up, I couldn't care less. If you think something is risky enough to need permission, don't expect me to approve it unless you are away from here. That said, if you need advice I'm willing to lend an ear." Makarov turned his head to look at Mitsu, obviously anticipating a response.

And he got one.

"Well, during my meditation, I discovered I, at some point in my past, erected a mindscape. I accessed it during my meditation, and I know how to do it again. Cana said, and I agree with her, that some memory resurfaced which allowed me to get to it." Mitsu shrugged. "Only reason I'm mentioning it is because I feel like I should be able to do something with or in my mindscape. Unless I was drastically different before I lost my memory, I doubt I would have gone through the trouble if it was some useless achievement," the pinkette said.

"So, what are you asking?" Makarov prompted.

"Do you think there is an actual purpose for this place in my head?" Mitsu asked. Makarov looked over his guild as he thought.

"How large is it?" the master asked.

"It seems pretty big," Mitsu said. "I could reshape my surroundings to my will, and I never saw the end of the forest, which I think is its normal appearance. I should probably mention the wolf as well," Mitsu muttered. Makarov cocked an eyebrow, suggesting he continue. "In the forest, there was a red-furred wolf, and I'm positive that it is the mental manifestation of my magic." Makarov appeared somewhat surprised when he heard that, but stayed silent as he thought on it.

"Your mindscape, as you call it, appears fairly large, if it has any defined end to it," Makarov began after a few minutes. "Seeing as you can change it, it might as well be infinite. Before I continue on that, I want to tell you what I know of such a phenomena." The guild master cleared his throat and adjusted himself slightly. "First thing you should know is that, technically, everyone has a mindscape. It is a facet of their imagination, and often where dreams are born. The significance of your mindscape is how you manage to access it consciously, and, more importantly, that you are able to affect your physical body through it. Of course, I don't know the extent of what you can do to yourself in there."

"What do you mean I can affect my body?" Mitsu asked.

"Everyone's body is, obviously, controlled by their mind. One's mind is incredibly powerful, as it is capable of great ingenuity and imagination. Of course, how one uses this power is solely in the hands of the individual. Now, everyone knows their mind can control their body. It's simple. Many do not understand, however, the extent to which it affects the body. Even those without magic can do their body great harm or great good using their mind alone, though few do so consciously, if any. Once you throw magic in, control over the mind becomes much more important, a lesson I learned later in life than many of my peers. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Makarov asked.

"I think so," Mitsu slowly muttered, nodding his head. "Since I have a mindscape, I have incredible control over my mind, and, therefore, my body."

"Precisely," the master said with a large smile and a thumbs up. "To erase any doubt, your light show last night is evidence of how much power your mind has over your body."

"I think I understand," Mitsu said. "But what can I do with it?"

"That is for you to discover," Makarov said with a solemn nod. "But if I knew, I would tell you!" Then Makarov laughed loudly at his own ignorance, or perhaps at the statement itself. _Was that supposed to be a joke? _Mitsu shook his head and smiled at his guild master.

Suddenly several images passed across his vision, disorienting him so badly he nearly fell from his stool. He saw a flash of bright blue, and he swore he heard a sound that he knew nobody else could hear. The blue took over his vision again, and he saw some texture to it this time. Mitsu stood from the bar stool and slid to the floor by feel, as he could not see his true surroundings. It was like his mind was taking full control of his vision. Soon the rest of his senses were taken over. Mitsu could not fight it, and resigned himself to let whatever it was pass.

Once Mitsu stopped resisting, the field of blue returned, and Mitsu recognized the texture this time as fur, with some visible scales where the fur was thin. The mass of fur gained some distance from his vision, and Mitsu saw a large, cobalt-furred dragon. Its head, along with most of its body, looked like that of a wolf, with the fierce teeth to match, and the one eye Mitsu could see shone with an intelligence that, somehow, did not surprise him. What did surprise Mitsu was the fear in the wolfish dragon's eye.

Mitsu then felt the wind whipping past his face in this vision. Was this some kind of memory? The dragon seemed to know him in this memory, and it looked like it was running from something, but it wasn't Mitsu. The swordsman had no clue what could scare a dragon, but when he saw what the dragon was fleeing from, Mitsu felt dumb. The cobalt dragon was fleeing from a much, much larger white dragon, though if that dragon had any scales at all, they were masked by its thick fur and the distance between him and the beast.

That is when Mitsu noticed armored scales hidden behind red fur as his vision shifted back to his front. Was Mitsu riding a third dragon in this vision, or memory, or whatever this was? It infuriated him to lack any semblance of control. The red and blue dragons did their best to escape their white-furred counterpart, but the larger dragon ran them down, or flew them down as the case was, with terrible ease. Blue and Red fought alongside one another in a desperate attempt to escape White, but it seemed as though all they accomplished was annoying the greater beast. It puzzled Mitsu that he never felt as though he would fall from Red's back, or neck, or wherever he was seated, even when the dragon looped or barrel-rolled.

But before he could think anymore on that, White finally tired of toying with his smaller counterparts. He, or she, Mitsu did not know, struck Blue with his tail, sending him flying to the earth below. Before Red could even try to react, and colossal paw slammed into him, sending him after his partner. Mitsu was so engrossed in this vision that he had to rub the bar he knew was at his back to remind him that this was not real.

His field of vision bobbed up and down and shook around as though he were trying to shake his blurry sight clear. When Mitsu could see straight, he saw Blue lying still on the earth with a broken wing. He looked up and White diving toward Red and Blue, his maw blazing with boiling silver flames. Red nudged Blue to his feet, and they rushed with one another into the nearby forest. **"YOU SHALL DEFY ME NO MORE! HIDE AS YOU LIKE, BUT YOU SHALL KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS!" **White's thunderous voice echoed across the area. Red and Blue dove into a nearby lake as a white pulse of energy surged toward them.

When the duo hit the water, Mitsu's vision ended and he reclaimed the use of his eyes. He saw Mira in front of him, looking at him with concern. But Mitsu was still too dazed and preoccupied to assure the kind and gentle beauty he was alright. The last thing Mitsu saw in his vision was, as expected, two furry, wolfish dragons; one red, one blue. It was what Mitsu did _not _see that disturbed him. Mitsu did not see himself, or anyone else for that matter, upon Red's back. Mitsu knew, somewhere within himself, from the wolf he guessed, that he just witnessed a memory, although he wished it was not so intense. But he was not in the reflection. _How can I remember something that I was not there for? _Mitsu wondered.

"Mitsu!" Mira cried as she shook him lightly. Mitsu finally broke himself from his thoughts and looked around. Several people seemed concerned, Mirajane chief among them.

"I'm fine," Mitsu said carefully as he got to his feet.

"You're sure?" Mira asked. Mitsu rubbed his eyes as he readjusted to actually being able to see.

"Yea," he responded. "I was reliving something, I think." Mitsu's brow furrowed as he tried to figure it out. _Where was I? _Mitsu wondered. He refused to believe what his instincts told him. The wolf kept telling him the truth, but he would not, could not believe it. It was too outlandish and bizarre.

"A memory then?" Makarov asked. Mitsu nodded, which made the old man chuckle. "I'm certainly glad I don't react that way when I remember something."

Mitsu was about to reply, but he was cut off by the loud ringing of several bells around town. He could hear a voice directing people in Magnolia to do something, but he had issues making out exactly what. Nearly everyone else in the guild seemed to understand what this alarm meant, and they shouted with joy and passed drinks all around in their jubilation.

"What is going on?" Mitsu asked. Mirajane could hardly contain her own excitement, and Makarov looked like he could not decided whether to be excited, relieved, or wary.

"That is the alarm signaling the Gildarts Shift," Makarov explained.

"Gildarts?" Mitsu asked. "The S-class mage you told me about?"

"Yes," Makarov answered while rubbing his face. "The very, very, very destructive one. That alarm means they are preparing to rearrange the town so he is unable, or at the least less likely, to destroy Magnolia."

"He is that destructive?" Mitsu questioned in disbelief.

Makarov's only response was a grim nod of the head.

Just as Mitsu was about to speak again, he sensed it: a colossal, swirling mass of magic energy. "Whoa," Mitsu breathed. He glanced at Makarov. "That's him?"

"Sense him already, can you?" Makarov chuckled with a bit of pride. "He is something else, isn't he? Wait until you meet him. " As Gildarts grew closer, Mitsu got a better read on his magic levels, and, unless Makarov had some trick to reducing his magical signature, Gildarts possessed more raw power than the master. Of course, the swordsman would not bother mentioning this to Makarov. The old man probably knew anyway.

The excitement in the room only escalated as they waited on Gildarts, and Mitsu found himself growing anxious with them, as if it were contagious. Mitsu sees the old man looking as happy as Natsu during a brawl out of the corner of his eye. Stretching across Makarov's face inch by inch, a devious grin made Mitsu the slightest bit nervous.

"Come closer," Makarov said, waving his hand for Mitsu to lean in toward him. "Natsu!"

"Yea?" the pinkette shouted in return as he celebrated Gildarts return.

"Come here!" Makarov said excitedly. Natsu smiled widely, smacked Gray upside the head, then ran over.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, nearly vibrating. Makarov's smile grew more wicked, though Mitsu had no idea how that was possible.

"The two of you will play a prank on Gildarts," Makarov said somewhat quietly. Mitsu cocked an eyebrow, but Natsu pumped his fist in the air.

"Awesome! I was gonna fight him, but this is just as fun," Natsu said. "So what should we do?" Makarov gestured for the pair to come closer, and he told them his master plan. By the time Makarov had finished, Natsu was rubbing his hands together and cackling to himself. Even Mitsu found himself anticipating the moment.

"Remember to wait for me to signal the right moment," Makarov reminded. "For now, you two should go sit over there near Elfman. Gildarts won't be able to see you behind him." The two look-a-likes nodded their heads, and made their way over to the giant man.

"What are you two men doing?" Elfman asked. "Is it manly?"

"Very," Natsu assured Elfman. "Just make sure Gildarts can't see us." Elfman nodded his head, and shifted his position on the bench to obscure the two smaller men.

Mitsu peeked around Elfman's shoulder with Natsu as they watched Gildarts walk in. The cloaked, auburn-haired man looked confused as he wandered into the building. Natsu snickered.

"He doesn't know he is home already," the dragon slayer explained to his counterpart. "The guild got a makeover a few months ago, and almost everyone has gotten old enough so he doesn't recognize us."

"Wait, didn't he see any of the signs saying 'Fairy Tail' on the way in?" Mitsu whispered. Natsu shrugged.

"Probably not." The duo turned their attention back to Gildarts, looking toward Makarov every few seconds to look for the signal.

Mitsu was almost shocked when Natsu turned out to be right after hearing Gildarts ask Mira where Fairy Tail was.

"Natsu," Mitsu whispered. "I'm still not sure about the second thing Master Makarov wanted me to do."

"Don't worry about it," Natsu waved him off. "Gildarts is cool. He will blow it off, or even find it funny."

"If you say so," Mitsu muttered. The swordsman noticed Makarov wave his hand. "There's the signal. Let's go." Natsu nodded his head.

The duo jumped out from behind Elfman and pointed their fingers toward Gildarts at the same time, in clear view of the crash wizard.

"GILDARTS! FIGHT ME!" they shouted in unison. Gildarts, who just finished speaking with Makarov, turned to see Natsu, as he expected, and quickly did a double take. Then Gildarts rubbed his eyes to make sure they were working right.

"Hey!" Natsu yelled, turning to glare at Mitsu. Mitsu returned his glare. "I'm gonna fight him first, and that's the end of it, Natsu!"

"Hell no! Natsu! I totally called dibs first!" Mitsu shouted back, his gaze piercing into Natsu's own.

Gildarts' jaw dropped as he looked between the two "Natsus" and looks from one to the other rapidly as they argued. He looked slightly pale, and turns to Makarov, who just shrugged at him, as if this were normal. Then Gildarts thought of a way to find out which Natsu was real.

"Natsu!" he called, expecting only the real Natsu to respond.

"WHAT!?" both Mitsu and Natsu respond, even though they never practiced.

Gildarts fell over and the entire guild laughed at his expense.

A few moments later, Gildarts recovered, though he was slightly pale, and turned to ask Mirajane for a drink. "One Natsu is a lot to handle," he muttered. "Two is too much, even for me."

Makarov tried to explain, but he could not catch his breath long enough even to speak. Mitsu shoved the hysterically laughed Natsu off his shoulder and walked over to Gildarts.

"Gildarts," Mitsu began, "My name is Mitsu. I promise I'm not really Natsu, though I look exactly like him. This was just a prank Master Makarov put together a few minutes ago. The master wanted to freak you out, and it worked better than anyone thought it would." Mitsu chuckled a little more. He supposed the effect of Gildarts reaction was less than it would have been if he had already known the wizard.

Gildarts' color quickly returned as he pumped Mitsu's hand excitedly. "Thanks for clearing that up," the wizard said with a broad smile, and, surprisingly, a deep laugh. "You performed excellently! A great prank! Good work. Though, I admit I am glad there is only one Natsu. I love the kid, but there is no way I could possibly handle two of them."

"I understand completely," Mitsu said. "I've only been here for two days now, well, two days that I've been awake for, and I get it."

"Nice meeting you," Gildarts said, picking up his pack again and slinging it over his shoulder. "Oh, and Natsu, be sure to stop by soon."

Mitsu noticed Gildarts was headed straight for the wall, and looked at Makarov, who signaled for him to do it. After a brief sigh to himself, and a quick prayer to anyone who might have been listening, Mitsu focused on generating a nullifying field of magic within his hand. Within a moment, he was satisfied to see a pool or glowing crimson energy in his palm.

_Now what?_

Mitsu shrugged, and decided to throw the energy like a ball, right before Gildarts made the finals steps toward the wall of the guild. The crimson magic bolted across the room and silently impacted Gildarts' back. The crash wizard made no indication he felt it, and kept walking toward the wall. Makarov was nearly bouncing in his anticipation.

But the moment Gildarts was about to face-plant, he stopped one hair's breadth away from the wall. He looked over his shoulder at Mitsu and Makarov. "I see the prank isn't quite over. Nice magic you've got there, Mitsu." That said, Gildarts took a step back, then swung his fist into the wall, smashing a hole into it with his raw, unmodified physical strength. Mitsu's jaw dropped to the floor. "But, I'm still going through the wall, Makarov."

"Did he powder some of those bricks?" Mitsu asked the guild master.

Makarov was grumbling and cursing under his breath about Gildart's being a pain in his ass. Mitsu realized he was not going to be getting anything out of the grumpy old man, and walked away. He noticed Natsu out of the corner of his eye smashing through a different wall, similarly to how Gildarts did, presumably to go meet with the older mage. Makarov then got off the bar, grumbling about having two holes to fix now.

Shaking his head, Mitsu stepped toward Mira, who was still giggling to herself. "If you need me, for whatever reason, I'll be out getting the stuff for my camp."

"Alright," Mira said. "Thanks for the help earlier."

"Heading out? I'll come with.

Mitsu turned to see Gray walk up. "I'm perfectly fine going without you, Gray."

"Nah," the ice make wizard said with a shrug. "I'm bored is all, admittedly because Natsu isn't here to fight with me." Mitsu rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he relented. "But, if you're gonna come with me, you're gonna help me pick the campsite and set up."

"I can live with that," Gray responded, moving his hands into his surprisingly present pockets. Mitsu sighed, and led Gray out the door and into town.

* * *

"So where did you learn your magic?" Mitsu asked, thinking it an innocent enough question. Still Gray stiffened slightly.

"Uh, that is a real long story," Gray said. Mitsu arched an eyebrow.

"We, literally, have all day," the swordsman said. Gray sighed.

"Yea, you're right. Everyone else knows anyway, I guess," Gray said. "I guess I should start with Ur. Ur was my teacher. She found me after the demon Deliora destroyed my hometown. As far as I know, I was the only survivor."

"Wow," Mitsu said. "I'm sorry. If this is too much, you can stop."

"I'll be fine," Gray said with a shrug. "Anyway, I was pretty obsessed with getting revenge, so I ended up becoming her second apprentice, her first being my senior, Lyon. The three of us were kind of like a family for a while, and Lyon and I got pretty good at ice make magic under Ur. Then we heard that Deliora was spotted again, and I immediately ran off to battle him." Gray laughed bitterly for a moment. "I was so cocky. I doubt anyone could have fought the Demon of Destruction, as Deliora is called. And yet there I was trying to fight the monster when I was just a kid. Ur and Lyon followed me. Lyon tried to use a spell called Iced Shell to defeat Deliora. He did not know what the spell would do to him. But Ur did, so she knocked him out. She told me to tell Lyon when he awoke that she had died, and proceeded to cast Iced Shell on Deliora. What the spell does, essentially, is turn the caster's body into an unmeltable ice that would encase the target. And it worked."

"She must have really cared for the both of you," Mitsu commented.

"Yea, she did," Gray said quietly. "I blamed myself for that for the longest time, and I guess a part of me will always regret it. Anyway, after that, I made my way here and joined up with Fairy Tail."

"What happened to Lyon?" Mitsu asked the ice mage. Another bitter laugh escaped the man.

"Well, while my desire to get stronger was to get revenge on Deliora, Lyon wanted to be the strongest there was. He thought that he had to get stronger than Ur and then beat her in combat to prove himself," Gray said.

"That would be a problem for him," Mitsu said. Gray nodded.

"It was," Gray said. "But Lyon is nothing if not persistent. By his logic, Deliora defeated Ur."

"I get it," Mitsu said, cutting Gray off. "So he decided he had to beat Deliora, which would prove he was stronger than Ur."

"Exactly," Gray said. "But the demon was still encased in ice. Lyon found an ancient spell, Moon Drip, which can dispel any magic, no matter how powerful. He set his operation up on Galuna Island. Eventually, the spell had side-effects on the local, and oddly peaceful demons. They sent out a request for the guilds to help. Happy, Natsu, and Lucy stole the request. I tried to follow them and bring them back, but they kidnapped me and convinced me to help. We confronted Lyon and his group, stopping them from hurting the villagers, but not from waking Deliora. The irony of it is Ur's Iced Shell had weakened the demon so much over the years that he literally crumbled when Natsu punched it."

"So Lyon really had no hope of proving himself," Mitsu said. "He probably wasted years of his life obsessing over it, when he could have been actually getting stronger than Ur."

"Yup," Gray said. "Erza ended up dragging all of us back to the guild."

"I'm sure that went well," Mitsu commented. Gray just grunted.

"Hey, get that tent," Gray said, pointing out one. "I've seen it before. It has magical reinforcement in its structure, so the wind won't blow it over and rain can't get in, and some low tier temperature regulation magic."

"Well, that's awesome," Mitsu said before he asked the clerk for that tent.

As the clerk was getting the tent for them, Mitsu noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Were they being followed? The swordsman decided to stay his tongue and blade, in case he was jumping to conclusions. But as he and Gray picked up more camping equipment, Mitsu became more and more convinced they were being followed. Mitsu leaned over to Gray subtly.

"Gray, we're being followed by someone," he said. Gray's eyes widened for a moment as he looked around. When he saw a flash of blue ducking back behind something, the ice make wizard sighed.

"It's just Juvia," Gray explained. "Come on out already. We know you're there."

A pretty blue-haired women stepped around the corner with a shy smile and embarrassed blush decorating her face. Gray opened his mouth to say something else, but Mitsu beat him to the punch.

"Juvia, it would be best if you stopped following us like that. It messes with my senses, and I almost lashed out at you on reflex."

It seemed that Juvia missed everything Mitsu said, however. She was too busy staring at Gray with a dreamy look on her face. Mitsu rubbed his face in frustration when he realized he would not be getting rid of this lady.

"Sorry, Gray," Mitsu apologized, though he did not fully realize why he apologizing. "Juvia, would you like to come with us to finish buying camp supplies and equipment?"

"Oh yes! Juvia would love to come with Gray!" Juvia answered ecstatically. _Why is she talking about herself in third-person? _Mitsu was about to say something else, but noticed Juvia reacquired that blank look in her eyes as she stared at Gray. Though, this time was probably due to Gray's new nakedness. _Should I ditch these two? _

"Gray," Mitsu said, rubbing his face in frustration.

"What's up?"

"Your clothes?" Mitsu prodded. Gray looked down at himself, then dashed off to find his clothes. The swordsman shook his head as he watched the boxer-clad man running around frantically. His thoughts drifted to Juvia again, seeing how her mind wandered off again, presumably after Gray.

"Juvia," Mitsu said. "For your sake, I think it would be best to try and find someone else. Pursuing Gray's love is probably a lost cause, from what I've seen." Of course, Mitsu would never say that was especially true for Juvia. "Gray is pretty emotionally frigid, uh, pun not intended."

"Mitsu is wrong about Gray," Juvia responded firmly. "And Juvia thinks Mitsu just wants Gray for yourself. I will not tolerate another Love Rival!" Mitsu's eyes nearly bugged clean out of his head and he choked on his own spit.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there!" he yelled as he shook his hands back and forth. "That is not true at all! I do _not _play for that team!" Mitsu took a breath to steady himself, then sighed. "If you won't even consider someone else, then you should at least change your methods. The way you are doing things now, the only thing you will likely accomplish is creeping Gray out and pushing him away from you."

Mitsu got irritated when he noticed Juvia stopped listening awhile ago, having drifted off again into her imagination. Gray ran back up, muttering to himself how the clothes got that far away and that spread out.

* * *

Before long, Mitsu, Gray, and Juvia were wondering the forest, looking for a place to set up the camp. They had already found several places that would have worked if Mitsu were only staying for a short while. But the swordsman had no idea how long he would be camping out here, so he wanted to find a much better place that was farther from town that the spots they had passed over.

"Are we far enough away yet?" Gray asked.

"I'm not sure," Mitsu said. "I'm sure once I am confident in my self control I will move a bit closer to town. Probably to one of the really good spots we passed earlier."

"Juvia wants to know why you would not move from the forest altogether once you feel confident," Juvia said. Mitsu smiled at her a bit over his shoulder. She was actually pretty nice when she was doing something that was not creepy.

"I like the peace and quiet out here," Mitsu explained. "And I feel completely and totally at home in the forest. Although, I'm not sure why that is the case." Juvia nodded her head, seeming to accept the answer.

"Hey," Gray said, pointing out a nearby stream. "This area could be good. There is water nearby, which is good, I guess." Mitsu pursed his lips as he looked around. He took note that the soil was fairly rocky, so mud would not be as huge of a problem as it would have elsewhere in the forest. The ground was rocky enough to make him wonder if they were close to caves or mountains.

"Are there any caves or mountains nearby?" Mitsu asked Gray.

"The closest real mountains are quite a way off to the north," he said. "Though, there could be some larger hills around here. I have no idea about caves or any respectable hills though. That is a better question for Natsu. He explored these woods a lot when he was younger."

"Alright," Mitsu said. "It doesn't really matter anyway. I was just curious. Anyway, I think we should move a little farther away. My tent might be rain-proof, but I doubt it is flood-proof, and that stream may flood at some point."

"Juvia agrees that this is smart," Juvia said.

Mitsu moved to a spot about twenty paces up to the top of a small hill, and both his companions agreed this spot was better. The trio began to erect the tent and set up the rest of the campsite. By the time they had everything finished, the sun was halfway set.

"Thank you," Mitsu said. "Both of you. I'm sorry it took longer than I expected. In fact, since it is so late, why don't you two stay here tonight and help me break in the camp? It beats walking in the woods in the dark."

Mitsu sees Juvia shifting her weight back and forth before she opened her mouth to respond, most likely refusing the offer. But Gray spoke up first. "I'm in," he said. "Sounds fun, actually."

"Juvia will also stay," Juvia declared, excited now that she would be close to Gray for a while longer.

"Excellent," Mitsu said, smiling after noticed Juvia's attitude change. "Hey, Gray, let's go get some firewood." Gray grunted, and the pair walked into the woods, leaving Juvia behind sitting on a stump.

As he and Gray were gathering the wood, Mitsu considered asking Gray about his thoughts on Juvia. After all, the ice mage did not seem as annoyed or put out with the water mage as others would have been. Just as Mitsu was about to ask, he noticed Juvia gazing at Gray from behind a tree with that look on her face that meant she was somewhere else entirely in her mind.

When Gray and Mitsu returned to the campsite, they found Juvia sitting exactly where they left her. Mitsu could not help but chuckle at this.

"What's so funny?" Gray asked.

"Nothing," Mitsu responded. Gray eyeballed him curiously for a moment before turning to Juvia.

"If you were gonna be following us anyway, you should have at least helped us gather the firewood," Gray said. Both Juvia and Mitsu's jaws dropped, since they thought he did not notice her out there, and never seemed to noticed before. Did Gray always know when Juvia was around?

"You are right, Gray," Juvia said with her eyes downcast. Then Juvia shocked Mitsu and Gray by getting down on her hands and knees and begging for punishment.

"Cut that crap out already! I am _not _into that crap," Gray insisted. Mitsu, for his part, lost any ability he once had to talk. _Some people actually _like _that? _

Juvia was about to respond to her beloved, but noticed Mitsu had recovered slightly. The newest addition to Fairy Tail looked irritated, and the air started to feel heavier, and Juvia knew Mitsu was responsible, even if he was doing it unintentionally. To prevent Mitsu from doing something rash, consciously or otherwise, Juvia decided to just nod her head and sit down once more on her stump.

While Mitsu worked on getting the fire started, Gray sat down surprisingly close to Juvia. Once the fire was roaring all on its own, Mitsu moved a bit away from the fire and sat on a dry patch of ground.

"Before long, I'll have to get a good axe to chop wood with," Mitsu muttered to himself. Juvia cleared her throat, catching Mitsu's attention.

"Juvia wants to know how strong Mitsu's control over his magic is," she said. "Juvia does not want to go without her magic again." Mitsu noted her voice was perfectly steady and confident, despite the obvious nerves behind the question.

"I assure you that everything will be fine as long as I stay focused and remember to meditate," he said. "Before long, controling my power will be second nature." _I hope. _

"Yea, so what was with the lightshow you put on during your meditation yesterday anyway?" Gray asked. Mitsu looked through the trees into the barely lit sky before he answered.

"During my meditation, I found the heart of my magic power and connected with it consciously. I communed with it for hours, though I had no clue until I was finished," Mitsu explained. The swordsman's thoughts drifted to the wolf again.

"Don't bother keeping quiet," Gray said, thinking Mitsu was hesitating about saying more. "Juvia and I are stuck with you here all night, so feel free to talk."

"It isn't that I don't want to tell you," Mitsu said quickly. "I've just been trying to sort things out. Anyway, I discovered that I have this mindscape that I can access during meditation. In there I found the mental, and I guess spiritual, manifestation of my magic power. The thing that I'm still trying to figure out is why it was a wolf."

"A wolf?" Juvia asked.

"Yes, a wolf. My magic, in my mind at least, took the form of a huge, crimson-furred, glowing wolf," Mitsu said. Juvia stayed quiet, apparently deep in thought.

"Hey, wolves are pretty cool," Gray said, "and if your magic has something to do with wolves, then you must have some pretty neat spells, once you remember them."

"Are you familiar with any adjectives that don't play off your magic and personality?" Mitsu asked with a grin.

"Huh?" Gray asked, confused for a moment. "Oh. I guess I do say 'cool' a lot." The ice mage shrugged to himself.

The trio stayed quiet and just looked at the dancing flames contently.

After a few minutes, Mitsu decided then would be as good a time as ever. "I'm going to sit here and meditate for a while." Juvia and Gray continued to stare into the fire in silence, so Mitsu shrugged and entered his position while shedding his coat.

Presumably because of his recovered knowledge, Mitsu found himself blocked out his surroundings and standing before the wolf incredibly soon. He doubted it took more than a minute or two. As he stared at the wolf, Mitsu felt the beast tell him without words to place his hand on its head, as he did the night before. When his calloused hand met the wolf's thick fur, power surged around the area again. This time, however, it was not nearly the flood that it was before.

Mitsu realized this was because he was restraining his magic through his will. He got another wordless communication from the wolf, presumably because it was a part of him, and Mitsu knew the wolf was pleased with this realization. Soon the canine urged Mitsu to try and do more with this control he was exhibiting. The swordsman stared at the wolf for a moment, wondering, not for the last time, what the wolf actually was, beyond his magic. Then Mitsu decided to go on and try. After all, what could it hurt?

Mitsu released his tight leash on the magic, allowing it to flow all around him again. Then he flexed his power of will once more, sending the crimson magic back and forth around him. The magic danced according to Mitsu's will. He had thought his power was a beast to be tamed, but it was just a part of him that answered to his whims. His face, both the physical and mindscape, broke into a smile as he called all the power to condense into his palm. Mitsu took a deep breath to calm his excitement, and slowly guided the ball of energy along the edge of his blade. With one more breath, Mitsu stepped forward toward one of the trees and swung his sword with all his might. The magic enriched blade cut through the tree with ease, and Mitsu hardly believed his eyes when several more trees fell from a similar cut, as though his blade had hit them as well.

The wolf padded forward, offering its head to Mitsu, who softly laid his hand on his wolf friend. When his hand made contact with the wolf, his vision went black for a brief moment before he saw himself through another's eyes. The vision Mitsu concentrated his signature crimson magic in his hand. Over the next instant, the magic's intensity and brightness skyrocketed before a magic seal appeared in front of his hand. The figure of a wolf's head appeared in the magic before shooting through the seal. Mitsu's eyes followed the bolt as it tore through several trees, leaving gaping holes behind, before impacting a rock wall When the wolf's-head-shaped magic bolt struck the wall, the rocks shattered

Soon Mitsu was back in his mindscape and free of the vision. He knew that the wolf just taught him one of his forgotten spells. The spell's name popped into his head a moment later. _Crimson Wolf's Fang._ At his will, Mitsu's magic appeared in his hand, just as he had seen a moment ago. **"Crimson Wolf's Fang!" **After casting the spell, Mitsu admired the damage the magic did, even though it could be repaired in an instant.

Mitsu turned to see the wolf standing right behind him. Soon it laid down at his feet, seeming content with Mitsu's progress. Mitsu sat in front of it, again looking square in its eyes. While it did appear happy with Mitsu, it also had a yearning look in its eyes, as if it were expecting something else. Mitsu offered a soft smile, and rubbed the wolf's head. Mitsu sat in front of the wolf for several minutes, keeping it company, though he did not know why, before he finally left his meditation.

When he opened his eyes, Mitsu spied Gray and Juvia talking comfortably with each other. _Maybe Juvia has a chance after all?_

"You're back," Gray said. "How did it go?"

"Very, very well," Mitsu answered. "The wolf gave me a memory of a spell I once knew, but it seemed kind of upset. I have no clue why though."

"Well, if it can just give you memories, it's gotta be more than just your magic. Who knows how important though," Gray said with a shrug.

"Juvia thinks the wolf is the key to Mitsu's memories," Juvia said. "If the wolf can give Mitsu any memory at all, it might be a part of Mitsu that was sealed away."

"You're both probably right," Mitsu said. "But even if you are, it's too late to bother with it tonight." Mitsu fell onto his back and stared at the stars through the tree canopy. He took a deep breath of the fresh forest air as he gazed at the heavens. His mind drifted briefly to his inner wolf, wondering what it wants him to do, but he brushed the thought away for the night.

The wind shifted slightly, and the air pressure dropped. Instinctively, Mitsu sensed a coming storm. "We should crawl in the tent to sleep tonight. It might be a little cramped for three, but a storm is coming, and I don't want to wake in a muddy puddle, personally." Juvia and Gray nodded their heads, but nobody was quite ready for sleep yet, so they stayed out.

Still, the storm coming set Mitsu on edge more than it should have. There was something wrong about it, or so the wolf said. And Mitsu trusted his wolf.

* * *

**AN: **Thanks for reading so far! I hope you are enjoying it. I still haven't heard if anybody is interested in seeing a profile for Mitsu. I'm sure you guys can keep track of him well enough, I just didn't know if having all the info right there would be convenient for y'all. If I don't hear something about it over the next few chapters, I'll assume you don't want it, which is fine by me. Less work! :P

Anyway, tell me your thoughts! I would love to hear from you!


	5. The Anima

**The Crimson Wolf**

* * *

**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

* * *

**The Anima**

* * *

Mitsu was pleasantly surprised when he woke and it had yet to rain heavily. His campsite was slightly damp, but nothing worth whining over. He turned to wake up Juvia and Gray, but saw they were already waking up.

"Hurry up, you two," Mitsu said. "The heavy rain hasn't come yet, like I thought it would, but the storm that is coming is something we don't want to get caught up in. We had better hurry to the guild. This isn't going to be some summer shower."

Thunder boomed across the sky, as if to emphasize his words. Juvia and Gray quickly rubbed the sleep from their eyes and grabbed the clothes they shed before going to bed, in Juvia's case, a coat, in Gray's, everything except, fortunately, his underwear. Their things gathered, the trio double timed it toward Magnolia.

When they arrived at the outskirts of town, rain began to drizzle lightly, and they picked up the pace even more to avoid the heavy rain to come. Mitsu notices Carla talking with Happy, and she looked angry. "I'm going to make sure those two get inside before this gets bad," Mitsu said, "I'll catch up."

But when he turned back, neither cat was there anymore. The rain started to pour down harder. "Great. Now I have to find them in this," Mitsu mumbled. He ran all around the town, but didn't spy the talking felines anywhere. When he passed by an alley, he noticed Gajeel laying in the alley. Whether he was knocked out, drunk, or just sleeping, Mitsu did not know. The swordsman strode over to the Dragon Slayer and shook him awake. He heard Gajeel grumbling something about a cat, but decided not to question it.

"What is it?" Gajeel growled. "What do you want?"

"I want to get you out of the rain," Mitsu replied, trying to keep calm.

Before either one of them could say anything else, the thunder roared even louder. Gajeel and Mitsu turned their eyes to the sky, and hardly believed what they saw. The clouds swirled, as if a tornado were about to strike. Somehow, they both knew this was far more sinister than any twister ever could be. The buildings all around Magnolia began to shift and turn bright white before they were sucked into the swirling sky.

"What's going on?" Gajeel asked.

"How should I know?" Mitsu asked in return. "This is bad! Very, very bad!"

"No shit!" Gajeel replied.

"We need to move! Now!" Mitsu yelled, drawing his sword and releasing his magic. "This must be some kind of attack!"

The pair rushed away from the alley, searching for the enemy. Within another few moments, all the buildings, people, plants, and everything else was gone. There was no sign of life anywhere around them. Now they were searching for survivors. Mitsu soon spotted a man standing alone, looking at the devastation, and gestured for Gajeel to go toward him.

As they got closer, Mitsu gestured for Gajeel to stand down. He recognized this man. "You are the guy who busted me out," he said. The blue-haired man turned around.

"Yes," he said, "I am Mystogan, and I broke you out of Raven Tail's dungeon. You know something of Master Ivan, don't you Gajeel?"

"Gi Hi Hi Hi," Gajeel chuckled. "So you're the mysterious Mystogan? Don't blow my cover. The old man might still need me for something. I'm sure Ivan was thrilled to be missing a prisoner."

"I have no doubt," Mystogan said, a smirk on his face. "We have a little time for questions, but not much. I don't know how long the Anima will stay now that it is finished."

"Did you know me before I lost my memory?" Mitsu quickly asked.

"Briefly," Mystogan said. "You told me your name, and that you would soon lose your memory, and I had to help you when that time came. There was little I could do to help except free you and tell you your name."

"What happened here?" Gajeel asked gruffly, gesturing at the nonexistent town.

"It is fairly in depth," Mystogan began. "I come from another world called Edolas. In Edolas, we don't have the unlimited magic Earthland has, and we have encountered a magic shortage. To correct this, they invented a powerful spell to steal magic from this world: Anima. I have spent the majority of my time in Earthland preventing the Anima from accomplishing its task, but it has grown too powerful for me to overcome on my own now. It appears to be the irony of fate that the first time it manages a powerful strike, it strikes the place I call home in Earthland.

"All of the people, including our guild-mates, have been sucked into Edolas and turned into a lacrima in order to be used for their magic. The only exceptions are the three of us, Lucy, Wendy, Natsu, Carla, and Happy. I spied the two cats taking their partners through the Anima. They won't be able to use magic soon enough. I sent Lucy to Edolas using these," Mystogan said, holding up a small glass medicine bottle. "These are X-Balls. They allow Earthland mages to use their magic in Edolas."

Mystogan took one of the pills out of the bottle, before handing it to Gajeel, who handed it to Mitsu after he took a pill.

"Now, this is important, only Dragon Magics, such as the magic both of you possess, can free those trapped in the lacrima, so it up to you to free our comrades and the people of Magnolia," Mystogan said.

"Wait, I don't use Dragon Slayer Magic," Mitsu said. Mystogan shook his head.

"Have you remembered nothing?" he wondered. "No, Gajeel uses Dragon Slayer Magic. You use a different form of Dragon Magic. Odd, I'm certain Master Makarov would have realized it. He must not have deemed it important. Or perhaps too important."

"What do you mean by Dragon Magic?" Mitsu asked.

"I wish I understood it myself," Mystogan said. _First thing you haven't known. _"But your magic has draconic origins, this is certain. What matters is you will be able to break the lacrima with your magic and free our friends that are trapped within the lacrima. I know you really hit it off with several people." _And there goes the freaky all-knowing thing again. _

Mitsu nodded his head, though he was still thinking on what that meant. "What are we waiting on?" Gajeel asked, popping the X-Ball in his mouth, Mystogan and Mitsu following his lead.

Everything in sight blurred as the trio shot into the Anima. Light burst all around them in an amazing display. Moments later, they burst through the spell and into the world of Edolas. Floating islands and flying rivers greeted them as they rushed past in their magically-induced dimension hop. Mitsu, Gajeel, and Mystogan finally touched down on a small hill at the edge of a forest. Nothing looked anything like what it did in Earthland. Giant mushrooms and ferns dominated the forest floor, towered over by massive trees that blocked most of the sunlight. They could see for miles around, and Mitsu spied a town in the distance.

"This place is weird," Gajeel commented. "It looks weird. It smells weird. It sounds weird."

"What about taste and touch?" Mitsu asked. Gajeel glared at him

"What do you think, smartass?" he grumbled.

"Well, the two you will get along swimmingly," Mystogan said wryly. "Welcome to my homeland. And yes, it is very different from Earthland."

"I know that the two of us will be looking for the lacrima in order to free those trapped inside," Mitsu said. "What will you be doing?"

"I will be paying a visit to the king to see what I can manage on the diplomatic end, if anything," Mystogan said. Mitsu cocked an eyebrow.

"And you can just walk right in and speak with the king?" he asked.

"How does that work?" Gajeel asked. Mystogan sighed.

"Well, you might as well know," he muttered. "In Edolas, I am known as Prince Jellal. The king is my father. For almost every person in Earthland, there is an Edolas counterpart."

"So somewhere around here there is another me?" Gajeel asked. Mystogan nodded. "Well, I hope we meet the handsome devil. Gi Hi Hi Hi!"

"Personally, it would be weird seeing another me," Mitsu said. "Anyway, we'll get started on finding that lacrima."

"Be sure to keep an eye out for Lucy and the others that aren't trapped in the lacrima," Mystogan said. "Natsu and Wendy won't be able to use their magic, so they are as close to helpless as Dragon Slayers can be. The nearest town is over there, in case you didn't see it already. I wish you both the best of luck."

Mystogan then used his magic and vanished. Gajeel and Mitsu looked around them some more at all the bizarre foliage before turning to look at each other.

"Dragon Magic, huh?" Gajeel asked. "You can't be that bad then."

"I guess so," Mitsu mumbled. He had a lot to think about now. "I have your back if you have mine."

"Gi Hi, this Edolas place is in for a shock."

* * *

**AN: **Well, I know it is much shorter than the previous chapters have been, but I felt I couldn't stuff everything I have planned for the first few parts of Edolas in without it feeling awkward to write. If it feels awkward to write, it will feel awkward to read. I don't want you guys to be forced to read awkward crap, or worse yet, stop reading! I really don't want you to stop reading. Anyway, I know there isn't much meat in this chapter, but did anything in particular catch your eye? Was it good? (I hope so) Was it bad? (Tell me! I can fix it!) What do you want to see in the coming chapters? Every review helps! (PMs too) I want to hear from you guys!


	6. The Power of Earthland Magic

**The Crimson Wolf**

* * *

**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

* * *

**The Power of Earthland Magic**

* * *

As Mitsu and Gajeel approached the town, they slowed their pace and rested behind a rock for a moment. "We should probably try and stay incognito for as long as we can," Mitsu said. "Too much attention could mean trouble for us, and for the guild."

"You're right," Gajeel said. "Both of us are pretty memorable, though. We might want to find something to disguise ourselves."

"Good idea," Mitsu said.

The pair snuck to the edge of town and climbed into the window of an abandoned building. Ransacking the place in search of something useful, Gajeel discovered two ragged cloaks, and handed the one without the hood to Mitsu. "My face is more memorable," he explained without Mitsu having to ask. "Metal studs in the face are fairly rare, for whatever reason. I think everyone should have them." Mitsu wondered if the Iron Dragon Slayer was being serious or not, since his monotone did absolutely nothing to indicate a joke.

"Alright," Mitsu said after he adjusted his sword so he could reach it if needed, "so we have to search an entire different world in order to find a lacrima."

"Mystogan's an asshole," Gajeel grumbled. "No hints, no clues, nothing."

"Well, we can assume it will be large, as the size of a lacrima is directly proportional to the amount of magic it holds, not considering the crystal's quality," Mitsu said. "And this thing holds all the power of Master Makarov, GIldarts, Erza, and the rest of Fairy Tail and Magnolia."

"Can't you do your magic sensing thing and find it?" Gajeel asked, irritated.

"That is something I considered, but there is a problem I didn't expect to encounter in a land that is supposedly running low on magic," Mitsu said.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, I find it disconcerting that a world that is having a magic deficiency problem has so much magic in it. We are up to our necks in the stuff here. It's not in the air, like the Eternano in our atmosphere. Their magic is fundamentally different. It is in lacrima, of course. But it is also in the ground beneath our feet. You wouldn't believe how much magic there is down there, Gajeel. If it was airborne Eternano, this place would be toxic. These people don't have a magic problem," Mitsu said, "they have a magic acquisition problem. They don't know how to access their magic."

"Frankly, the flying river should've been the first hint that they have no magic problem," Gajeel commented. "But tell Mystogan about it. I don't give a shit."

"Sorry," Mitsu said. "Anyway, I can't find the lacrima unless I were close, more than likely. Like I said, it will be large. Now, they will either have it somewhere hidden, for security, or it will be proudly displayed. I doubt they expect anyone to harm a great source of magic if everyone thinks there isn't enough to go around. Steal it maybe, but this thing will be big. Either way, it will be hard to find it, get to it, or both. It will definitely be guarded."

"Let's stick to finding the damn thing for now," Gajeel said gruffly.

"Of course," Mitsu said.

"We should split up and ask around town," Gajeel suggested. "We'll meet back here tonight with any info we find, and then make plans from there."

"Sounds good," Mitsu agreed with a nod of his head.

They walked out the door, Gajeel going toward the right side of town, Mitsu toward the left. Mitsu asked everyone he came up to, but every person he approached backed away. After around a dozen people seemed to nearly run from him, Mitsu looked at the ground, trying to sort out what was going on. His sword's handle reflected some the sun's light, and everything made sense. People likely did not go around Edolas armed like he was unless they meant trouble.

In order to solve the problem, Mitsu ducked into an alley to adjust his gear. Shedding the cloak for a moment, Mitsu shifted his sword from his hip to his back, and covered all but the hilt, which peeked over his right shoulder, with the cloak. The swordsman walked around a few paces to get used to having his sword on his back before drawing the blade several times to test out the new position. He practiced his draw attack until he felt confident in it, then dueled multiple imaginary opponents, being sure to utilize his draw attack often. Finished with the aggressive maneuvers, Mitsu sheathed his blade once more and muttered to himself, "I kind of like that."

Soon a loud roar accompanied by screaming echoed across the town. Sensing a burst of magic power, Mitsu looked up at the sky when he felt the wind change drastically, and spotted a twister rising from the ground. He swore he saw people in it. As he rushed out of the alley toward the sudden whirlwind, he heard a booming crash. When he glanced at the sky again, the tornado was gone, and Mitsu realized it was created through magic, tying together its sudden appearance and disappearance with the spike in magic power.

Mitsu continued to rush in the direction he spied the twister, keeping a close watch for any more magic power expenditure. The pinkette somehow knew in his gut that Natsu was somehow involved in that. As he rushed down the street, opposite the direction of the few citizens in the streets, Mitsu felt a familiar magic presence. He picked up the pace, and when he turned the corner, he spotted Lucy wandering down the street. _Didn't she see that thing? _

"Lucy!" Mitsu called, backing into an alley and checking the streets for anyone that might be watching. Lucy spied him just before he was concealed by the shadow of the building next to him and sped over to him. Mitsu snatched her into the alley violently, covering her mouth to mute her squeal.

"What was that for?" Lucy asked, giving Mitsu a brief hug.

"Now that I think about it, I have no idea," Mitsu admitted.

"Whatever, I am so glad to see someone else from the guild," Lucy said. "I thought I would never find anybody." Mitsu chuckled a bit then smiled at his friend. "Come on," Lucy said, dragging Mitsu out of the alley, "it smells weird in there." Mitsu considered objecting, but decided it would accomplish nothing.

"I guess I should start talking?" Mitsu asked, still checking for any eavesdroppers. Lucy nodded her head with an expectant look on her face. "Well, how much did Mystogan tell you?"

"Practically nothing," Lucy said, "so tell me everything you know."

"Fair enough," Mitsu agreed. "I'm sure, even if Mystogan didn't tell you, that you know that Edolas is a world parallel to our own. Well, they think they are running out of magic power, and I can tell you they aren't, but that is something else entirely. In order to gather magic, the people of Edolas, presumably the leaders, created the Anima spell, which was designed to take magic from our world and deposit it in this world in a lacrima."

"Wait, that means our guild and all of Magnolia Town are inside some lacrima right now!" Lucy cried.

"Yes," Mitsu said. "I knew you were sharp. Anyway, Mystogan sent me and Gajeel here to find the lacrima and destroy it with our Dragon Magic, which would, somehow, free those inside."

"You have Dragon Slayer Magic?" Lucy asked.

"No, I have Dragon Magic, according to Mystogan," Mitsu said. "He is the one who broke me out of some guild called Raven Tail's prison. At some point, I met him when I had my memories and told him to find me and help me because I would lose my memories soon."

"Wait," Lucy began.

"We can discuss that later," Mitsu said, waving Lucy off. "I don't get it, but my magic is some form of Dragon Magic, but not Dragon Slayer Magic. What matters is I can free those trapped in the lacrima. Mystogan mentioned seeing Carla and Happy taking Wendy and Natsu through the Anima, so they're here somewhere too."

"Great, so we have to find them," Lucy said. "That doesn't sound easy."

"Fate can be cruel, but also kind," Mitsu said. "I feel as though Natsu is close. Maybe it's a clone thing. Anyway, Gajeel and I are looking for the lacrima, but we have no idea where to look. That is a real problem. I have a feeling that the king won't just let a massive source of magic sit in his backyard without tapping into it for long."

"It should go without saying, but I will do everything I can to help," Lucy said. Mitsu smiled, expecting nothing less.

"I don't know what you could do to help right now besides–"

Several Edolas soldiers ambushed them in the middle of the street. "Are you Lucy?" one of them demanded. Mitsu cursed himself for not paying attention as they held his arms behind his back.

"Yes, I'm Lucy! What is this about? Let me go!" Lucy cried.

Mitsu kicked backward, connecting with with someone's knee and folding his leg. Obviously, the soldier was too busy falling to the ground and screaming to hold Mitsu's right arm anymore. Mitsu spun around, leading with his fist, and sent the other man restraining him into a crumpled mess on the ground. "Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Lucy yelled, using Mitsu's distraction to wrench free. _Well, so much for keeping a tight lid on magic. _As he drew his sword, Mitsu cut through several of the guard's weapons. His crimson magic collected on his blade and radiated off the edge menacingly. He cupped his left hand and his magic swirled into a ball within it. The red ball began to change shape.

"Crimson Wolf's Fang!" Mitsu shouted with a devilish look in his eyes. An intricate magic seal appeared in front of his cupped left hand and the ball of energy morphed into a wolf's head, jaw wide open to attack. The spell bolted forward, hitting a guard and slamming him into two others. "Glad I thought to lower the spell strength," Mitsu muttered before ducking into the crowd with his sword flashing as it disabled soldier after soldier.

"WE ARE!" a new voice yelled. Mitsu turned to see Scorpio, one of Lucy's more powerful Celestial Spirits. "Sand Buster!" Scorpio cried, aiming his tail at the remaining soldiers. An incredible amount of sand magic shot from the tail, and Mitsu barely had time to jump out of the way before he was swept away with the overwhelmed soldiers.

"Nice job, Scorpio! Thanks!" Lucy said.

"I gotta go," Scorpio said. "I've got a date with Aquarius." Then the spirit disappeared in a flash of light.

"That was impressive, Lucy," Mitsu commented, resheathing his katana. "You're not one to mess with." Lucy blushed a bit, but thanked him.

"See, Wendy? I told you that those soldiers didn't stand a chance against _both _of them." Mitsu and Lucy turned to see Natsu walking out of a nearby building, followed by Wendy, Happy, Carla, and a girl that looked just like Lucy.

"You guys are okay!" Lucy cried. Then she spotted her doppelganger, and pointed at her slackjawed. The two look-alike stared at each other in silence, barely blinking.

"So this is the Edolas version of me?"

"That is Earthland's me?" they asked at the same time. Mitsu rubbed his forehead and laughed.

"Now you know how me and Natsu feel," he commented, wrapping his arm around the beaming Natsu's shoulder.

"That's Lucy _Ashley _from Edolas' Fairy Tail," Wendy said with a smile.

"Scary Lucy," Happy said.

"Lucy Ashley, huh?" Mitsu asked.

"That's me," Edolas Lucy said, turning to see the doppelgangers. Her jaw dropped again. "Not one, not two, but _three _Natsu's," she mumbled. "Why do you guys get two?"

"Actually, this is Mitsu," Natsu said. "He's my twin. Or maybe my clone. Or maybe he is from a different world than Edolas and Earthland."

"How do you know that _you _aren't _my _clone?" Mitsu asked with a grin.

"If anyone's a clone, it's you," Natsu argued. "I'm the original, no doubt about it."

"The alternate world thing seems more likely at this point," Lucy Heartfilia said.

"How can you two use your magic here in Edolas?" Wendy asked.

"I have no idea," Earthland Lucy said with a shrug. "Maybe we're prophesied heroes!"

Mitsu outright laughed at Lucy's absurd idea. "That sounds like something a writer would say," he chuckled. Lucy laughed a little bit with him. "I know how we have magic."

"How?" Natsu demanded. Lucy Ashley was standing in the background listening to everything and wrapping her head around seeing herself and yet another Natsu.

"Mystogan gave Lucy, Gajeel, and me these," Mitsu said, producing the X-Balls from his coat pocket. "This is a medicine that allows Earthland mages to use their magic in Edolas." Mitsu pulled out two X-Balls and tossed them into Wendy and Natsu's mouths.

"Where is Jellal now?" Wendy asked as she felt her magic rising within her.

"He is going to see the king of Edolas to see what he can do using his influence," Mitsu answered.

"What influence would this Mystogan guy, or Jellal, or whatever his name is, have with Faust?" Lucy Ashley asked with narrowed eyes.

"Mystogan said he is a prince here in Edolas," Mitsu said. Lucy mouthed the word prince silently.

"Wait, Prince Jellal? _The _Prince Jellal? He has been missing for years!" Lucy Ashley said.

"He's been in Earthland trying to stop the Anima spell from stealing our magic," Mitsu said.

"As long as Faust doesn't steal towns like he did with your Magnolia Town, what's the problem with taking your magic? You have tons of it, and we are running out," Edolas Lucy said.

"Hold on just one moment," Carla interrupted. "When will you give Happy and me our X-Balls?" Mitsu's brow furrowed.

"The two of you don't need them," he said. "You have your magic, so if I gave you two some, it would waste it."

"Of course we need it, you buffoon! We cannot fly!" Carla cried. Mitsu's eyes became thin slits, and almost seemed sinister.

"Carla!" Wendy shouted, shocked at her friend's actions.

"No, Wendy," Mitsu said. "Listen here, cat. I am very attuned to magical forces. It is intrinsic to my very being and magic. I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you and Happy still have your magic.

"You do _not _want to test me," Mitsu growled. "I have been and will continue to be well-mannered. However, you have no right to belittle me or act as though I am a fool. You are a member of Fairy Tail, just as I am. You hold no seniority over me beyond a slightly longer membership. You have no right to be so haughty. _Check your attitude_." Mitsu noted Natsu completely ignoring everything around him as he played with his magic, which included, but was not limited to, torrents of flame rocketing through the air.

Carla was taken aback by Mitsu's words, and Earthland Lucy looked back and forth between the two, wondering what else would be said. Of course, Wendy was upset with both of them, but silently thought that Carla needed to hear that. Finally, the perturbed Carla hmpfed and turned from Mitsu, unable to rebuke his words.

"I'm glad we cleared that up," Mitsu mumbled. "Now, as I was about to say Lucy–"

A large contingent of guards ran into the area, likely the entire town's regiment bolstered by reinforcements judging by the number. "OH YEAH! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Natsu screamed. "I'VE GOT THESE GUYS! TIME FOR SOME EARTHLAND MAGIC!"

"As if I would let you take all of them for yourself," Mitsu said with a smirk. Steel sung as his sword was pulled from its sheathe. The next instant, Mitsu waded into the sea of soldiers, disabling them with his swift sword strikes and brutal magical attacks.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled, leaping for a cluster of soldiers.

"Don't destroy the town, Natsu!" Lucy pleaded.

Mitsu reacted on instinct, encompassing the area in a field of nullifying magic, effectively stopping Natsu's flames dead before they could incinerate the surrounding area.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Fire surged across the area, bathing the battlefield in searing heat. Mitsu and Natsu continued to dominate the enemy soldiers as more and more poured in. Already several were considering running in fear. Another devastating strike from Mitsu followed quickly by Natsu's next attack sent them running.

"Crimson Wolf's Fang!" Mitsu yelled.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu shouted.

But they had nowhere to run.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel was in the way, a feral, terrifying grin on his face. The few remaining Edolas soldiers fell to their combined might. Some tried to surrender, but between Natsu's battle-enraptured mind, Mitsu's honorable warrior spirit, and Gajeel's ruthless nature, they all ended up unconscious with a few on the brink of death.

"This is the power of Earthland magic?" Lucy Ashley wondered aloud, a mix of awe and fear on her face.

"Aw man, was that all of them?" Natsu complained. "I still wanna fight!"

"Later, away from town," Mitsu said, gulping in air after restraining Natsu's spells.

"Me and you?" Natsu asked, eyes wide. "YEA! REMATCH!"

"He said later, idiot," Gajeel muttered.

"What'd you say, Gajeel?!" Natsu yelled.

"Not here," Mitsu said. "We've brought the people of this town more than enough trouble already."

"You gonna make us?" Gajeel growled. _And there is the dragon inside. _

"Fine, fight each other here then," Mitsu consented before blasting the pair with his magic. "But it _will _be a fist fight."

"Works for me!" Natsu yelled, jumping toward Gajeel with his arm cocked back and a grin on his face.

"Wait, your magic gets rid of other magic?" Lucy Ashley asked, covering her magic whip with her hand.

"More like suppresses it, or nullifies it," Mitsu said. "But the general effect is the same: no magic for them. Good thing is, I'm getting better at it, so I can stop it on a whim. Stopping Natsu's flames without cutting his magic off was hard though."

"What are you people?" Lucy Ashley asked, watching Natsu and Gajeel happily beat the crap out of each other, grins on their faces.

"They're monsters," Lucy Heartfilia answered. "Those two," she pointed at Gajeel and Natsu, "are Dragon Slayers, along with Wendy here. We don't know what Mitsu is exactly."

"How do you not know?"

"I have a bit of a memory problem," Mitsu answered, rubbing the back of his head with a coy smile.

"You forgot!?" Edolas Lucy cried.

"He has amnesia," Wendy spoke up. Lucy seemed to calm down at this, while Lucy laughed at her Edolas version.

"Hey! We should take on the king and beat all those guys up so everyone can have magic!" Natsu yelled, breaking from his fight for a moment before Gajeel knock him over.

"That's a dumb idea, Natsu," both Lucys said at the same time. Mitsu looked over and saw them standing next to each other, exact copies, including their movement.

"Oh," Mitsu groaned, holding his forehead. "That's gonna give me a headache. I'm seeing double."

Natsu and Gajeel finally stopped their brawl, calling it a draw for now. "But Mitsu can just zap their magic and they'll be helpless," the Fire Dragon Slayer argued.

"You can do that?" Lucy Ashley asked.

"Maybe," Mitsu said, "but I doubt I could control my magic precisely enough to avoid my allies. Even then, their sheer numbers will be hard to conquer, I'm sure"

"Yea, Faust's army is massive," Lucy said, "and they have all the magic to themselves."

"If you guys figure out how to harness the magic around you, you have far more magic at your disposal," Mitsu said.

"We have no magic in comparison to the army. What are you talking about?" Edolas Lucy asked.

"You know something about Earthland," Mitsu began with a shake of his head. "We have no floating islands or flying rivers. That may sound odd to someone who sees them every day, but it's true. You see, our magic is in the air. Mages in our world have a limitless supply because when we use our magic, it releases back into the air, eventually becoming Eternano for mages to absorb. It's similar to water. It gets picked up, then used, then it returns to the sea to be picked up again."

"Our magic is nothing like that," Lucy Ashley argued.

"No, it isn't like that," Mitsu agreed. "You magic isn't in the air."

"Exactly, it's in lacrima," Edolas Lucy said.

"Some of it, yes," Mitsu said.

"Some of it?

"Yes, some of it. But most of it is in the ground," Mitsu said. "Of course, you don't know how to use it, or even get to it, but it is there."

"So how do we get to it?" Lucy Ashley asked.

"I don't know," Mitsu said with a shrug. "I pointed out the power, you and your people have to find out how to use it."

Lucy Ashley acted as though she were going to argue or complain, but then said instead, "Of course."

"Anyway, my point was that we should prioritize saving our nakama before we do anything else," Mitsu said.

"Sounds like the original plan," Gajeel grunted.

"That's because it is," Mitsu deadpanned. "We just have help now."

"Fair enough," Gajeel said.

"So what do we have to do?" Natsu asked.

Mitsu was prepared to do his long-winded explanation again, but Earthland Lucy cut him off. "You, Mitsu, Wendy, and Gajeel need to find a giant lacrima and smash it with your magic. That will free our nakama," she said.

"So I smash it? I can do that!" Natsu said, a ball of swirling flames in his hand and a maniacal grin on his face.

* * *

**AN: **Hey all! Thanks for reading! I've got more coming at you soon! Look out for a new story. It will be a much stronger AU


	7. The Second Incident

**The Crimson Wolf**

* * *

**Summary: **A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...

* * *

**The Second Incident**

* * *

Thanks to Lucy Ashley and Fireball Natsu, the Earthland mages arrived in the Royal City the night before King Faust was supposed to make an announcement, presumably about the lacrima containing the rest of Fairy Tail and the citizens of Magnolia Town.

Mitsu was rooming with Gajeel and Natsu in a hotel owned by a man Lucy Ashley said they could trust. The Dragon Slayers were driving Mitsu insane, slowly but surely.

"There's no way that iron tastes better than fire," Natsu insisted.

"You're so full of shit!" Gajeel fired back. "Iron is way better than fire. Fire is just heat, but iron has substance to it."

"Says you!" Natsu growled.

"Will you two shut up?" Mitsu groaned.

"IRON IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN FIRE!" Gajeel roared.

"ALRIGHT! IT'S ON GAJEEL!" Natsu yelled back.

"ENOUGH!" Mitsu shouted, dispersing his magic across the pair unintentionally. Mitsu took a deep breath, and retracted his power. "Both of you are going to stop fighting, or so help me I will pin you to the wall with my katana."

"Oh yea?" both Dragon Slayers retorted.

"Yea," Mitsu said, drawing his sword slowly and glaring at them hard enough to make a demon flinch. His eyes glowed red and his face was covered in shadow, and the Dragon Slayers felt the air in the room grow cold, heavy, and nearly caustic.

"Fine," Gajeel finally relented. "I was ready to sleep anyway."

Natsu looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it when Mitsu put the tip of his blade under his throat. The Fire Dragon Slayer settled down.

"Good," Mitsu said. "I'm going to meditate now, so keep it down. The two of you could wake the dead if you tried hard enough."

Both of the other two guys grumbled under their breath. Happy flew in the window with an odd looking fish, but Natsu covered his mouth before he could scream something about his fish.

For his part, Mitsu sat down on the floor with his legs folded and his eyes closed. He took deep breaths to ease himself into the depths of his mind.

He began to see the regular image of the forest that was his mindscape. Feeling breathing on the back of his neck, Mitsu turned around and met noses with the great crimson wolf. The swordsman cleared his throat.

"I know that you know exactly what I've forgotten. You probably know everything about who I really am, including the explanation for whatever that vision was," Mitsu said. "I also know that you can communicate with me, even when I'm meditating. At some point, I want you to tell me everything."

The wolf shook its head and told Mitsu mentally that it could not tell him anything without inviting dangerous memories that his mind was not ready to accept, not even mentioning the sheer number of forgotten memories. If the wolf were to allow him to remember it all at once, it would do far worse than cripple him.

"I understand and suspected as much," Mitsu said. "But I need to grow stronger. I need to focus on being strong enough so all of us can survive the coming storm. I feel in my gut, instinctually, that something... bad is going to happen soon. I'm not as confident as Natsu is that we can conquer Faust and his armies with ease. Will you teach me more of my forgotten spells, or, if not that, at least train me?"

The wolf bowed its head, before standing up on all fours and snarling, silently telling Mitsu that it could not teach him anything; he must remember his magic on his own, for safety's sake.

Mitsu drew his sword from over his shoulder as he asked in frustration, "What is it I must remember? What memory is sealing my magic?"

But the swordsman received no answer besides a snarl and vicious attack from his inner wolf. Mitsu twisted his body around, dodging the wolf's sharp canines and throwing the beast away from him. The wolf glowed a bright crimson for a moment before it was surrounded by shadow images of swordsmen wielding all manner of blades from katanas to oversized kitchen cleavers.

Despite being little more than shadows, Mitsu discovered their attacks were as solid as if they were real men from outside his mind. He ducked under the blow of one while kicking another in the stomach, sending it flying into the broad trunk of a tree. But Mitsu paid for his attack. The wolf latched onto his back and two of the other shades cut at his arms, blows that would have disabled him had they been real.

Still, the pain was real enough to force Mitsu to scream. In retaliation, Mitsu blew the wolf off his back with a burst of magic, and then covered his blade with the blood-colored power before striking at the shades aggressively. For every shade he cut down, the wolf replaced it with two, making the fight progressively harder. Soon, Mitsu was leaping over shades to escape being surrounded and pushing off trees to augment the strength of his strikes. Several bursts of magic shot from the palms of his hand, sending more shades back to the nether for a moment. Still, Mitsu took damage from the wolf and his minions, though they merely left the ghosts of the pain from the strikes.

Eventually, Mitsu had to start getting creative with his magic. The swordsman began extending pulses of power beyond his clenched fist, simulating a punch and sending the wolf and his shades flying without ever making true physical contact. He delivered shockwaves to the floor with devastating effect, though that exhausted Mitsu quickly. Bit by bit, the wolf pushed Mitsu to his very limit.

When his muscles tired out and his sword seemed to weigh more than he did, Mitsu brought a truly inventive side of himself to light and instinctually created a spell to empower himself. "Crimson Wolf's Soul!" Mitsu yelled. His long pink hair turned the crimson color of his magic and his already prominent magic aura grew larger. Mitsu felt greater strength within his legs and noted razor sharp claws glowed on the tips of his fingers in place of his nails.

The wolf jumped back warily, mentally informing Mitsu that this was new. Mitsu grinned savagely at that thought before he rushed at his inner companion and his minions. Never had Mitsu felt so powerful. His movements were far more precise and much faster than they were when he dueled Erza in the forests outside Magnolia, and he effortlessly cut down the shade swordsmen that previously offered him such great difficulty.

The wolf still proved troublesome, matching Mitsu's increased speed with his own. Displaying incredible precision and power, the wolf knocked Mitsu's blade from his hands and into the trunk of a nearby tree. Without missing a beat, Mitsu swiped at the wolf with his clawed hands and tackled the beast.

If this fight had been real, both combatants would have killed each other long ago; blows were aimed for every vital spot imaginable. Throats were bitten. Arteries were slashed. Bones were shattered.

Mitsu felt his magical reserves dwindle much faster than it ever had before, and the power sustaining his Crimson Wolf's Soul spell ceased entirely a moment later, reverting him to his regular, non-nightlight appearance. Quickly, Mitsu shoved the wolf away from him with what small portion of his strength remained.

If nothing else could be said, the wolf definitely knew when Mitsu was past his limit. Granted, the limit on his magic was a self-imposed replication of how far Mitsu could stretch his magic in the physical world. There was no point to simulating battle without also simulating limits. It would likely trick Mitsu into believing he could go farther than he could in reality.

After several minutes of rest, the wolf sat in front of Mitsu and bowed its head as it did when it wished for Mitsu to touch him. Sensing the wolf's desire, Mitsu gently set his hand on the beast and closed his eyes as he pet its large head.

For a very brief span of time, Mitsu saw a series of flashes of himself, though the wolf blurred the image for some reason, so the swordsman assumed it was himself in the vision, wielding two blades simultaneously. The effect was devastating and beautiful, just as Erza's incredible swordsmanship proved to be.

"This is a lost skill of mine?" Mitsu asked after the series of blurred images passed by.

The wolf confirmed this, but...

"This isn't a simple memory, such as a magic spell, is it?" Mitsu asked earning a nod from the wolf. "I won't be able to wield two blades at once after witnessing a memory of myself doing it. I'll have to relearn this the hard way." Mitsu sighed a bit before chuckling and running his hand through his hair. "I guess that's fair enough. I'd best get started on that as soon as I can. But where will I find another sword in Edolas?"

As he pondered on the possibility of dual wielding, Mitsu caught the wolf's intense stare. The creature's eyes held an unsettling mixture of fear and excitement, as though it knew something that was a peculiar mixture of good and bad was going to happen. And Mitsu suspected it did, in fact, have some foreknowledge related to his memories.

The swordsman could not hold the wolf's gaze for long without shuddering involuntarily and eventually deciding to withdraw from the depths of his mind.

When Mitsu opened his eyes, Gajeel commented over the loudly snoring Natsu, "That meditation shit you do is kinda freaky."

"Why do you say that?" Mitsu asked the Dragon Slayer.

"With all the glowing you got goin on at certain points, it looks like you would explode or something if you lost focus," Gajeel replied gruffly, following his statement with a shrug.

"I can promise you I won't blow up," Mitsu laughed. "If anything, my power is more stable when I meditate.

"Anyway, I'm going to sleep now," Mitsu said.

"Yea," Gajeel grunted before closing his eyes. Within moments, his own snores battled with Natsu's.

"Do I have any chance of getting any good sleep?" Mitsu asked himself when he noticed even Happy was snoring, though the cat was much more quiet than the Dragon Slayers. Still, the swordsman forced his eyes shut and tried to block out the thunderous snoring.

* * *

Morning came early for Mitsu, mostly because his sleep came late. Gajeel was already munching on a piece of iron for breakfast, though he managed, somehow, to do it quietly. Mitsu groaned when the light struck his eyes, but forced himself awake.

"You look like death warmed over," Gajeel grunted.

"Funny," Mitsu moaned, "I _feel _like death warmed over. Is incredibly loud snoring a Dragon Slayer thing?"

"I don't know," Gajeel said. "It could be. Metalicana snored loud enough to shake the ground at times."

"How could you sleep through that?" Mitsu asked in shock.

"Just did," Gajeel said. "Actually, for a while after he vanished, I had problems falling asleep without the snoring. It took a long time to get over that. If you ask me, that's the worst thing about him leaving."

"The worst part of you foster father leaving was the fact that you had problems falling asleep without his snoring?" Mitsu deadpanned, not believing a word from Gajeel's tough guy attitude. The machismo was irritating at times.

"Yea," Gajeel grunted. "The rest of these idiots will probably be asleep for a while. Let's bust out of here and start asking questions."

"Fair enough," Mitsu said. "But I think we should just listen instead of asking. That did not work well for me in Louen. Unless of course, you had some luck with questioning people back there. You never told me how that went."

"Nothing worth talking about," Gajeel said. "Apparently, Edolas' version of me is some investigative reporter type guy that nobody likes."

"Well, that at least makes sense," Mitsu said. "I'm pretty sure nobody would talk to me because of my sword. I guess weapons aren't all that common there, unless you're military."

"Is that why your sword is on your back?" Gajeel asked.

"Yea, it is," Mitsu said. "I still reach for it at my hip occasionally out of habit, but I kind of like having the blade sheathed against my back. It's out of the way, and my draw attack, while different, has a bit more power behind it from the chopping motion."

"Whatever," Gajeel grunted. "I just think your sword looks tasty."

"You better think twice before even trying to eat this steel," Mitsu muttered. "You would bitterly regret that decision."

The Iron Dragon Slayer completely ignored him and strode into a restaurant with a bar that, surprisingly enough, was open and bustling in the early morning. Mitsu orders two drinks so the barkeep would not hassle them about loitering around the place, and handed one to Gajeel when they settled down at a table to listen to the customers gossip.

After nearly an hour of completely worthless conversations, Gajeel finally grumbled, "I don't give a single shit about that bitch breaking up with her boyfriend."

"I swear that is the only conversation I can hear if I don't deliberately block it out," Mitsu complained. "It's incredibly early to be getting drunk over something like that though."

"Of course," Gajeel said, chucking and lifting his drink in the air slightly, "it's never too early to drink for a Fairy Tail mage."

The duo caught each other's eyes and grinned a bit. "Especially if you're Cana!" they chorused with a laugh.

With that, the pair returned to listening to their surroundings, sipping on their drinks occasionally to avert attention from themselves. Soon enough, Gajeel finally heard someone mention a giant lacrima and gestured for Mitsu to keep watch while he asked about it.

Mitsu kept his eye on the door, leaving Gajeel to investigate. That is, until he heard Gajeel slam back into his seat with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"And this one looks like Natsu Dragion, but with longer hair," someone commented. Mitsu shifted his eyes from Gajeel to see another Gajeel, though Edolas' version looked far less aggressive and intimidating.

"Edolas' Gajeel," Mitsu asked, turning to Gajeel Redfox, who grunted in response. "Honestly, what are the odds of us meeting so many of our look-alikes.

"We still ain't met the other you," Gajeel grumbled.

"So, tell me about yourselves," Edo-Gajeel implored. Mitsu sighed to himself.

"There are two worlds, Edolas, here, and Earthland, where we come from," the swordsman muttered.

"I'm Earthland's version of you," Gajeel said. The Dragon Slayer was far more invested in talking with his other self, so Mitsu decided to leave it to him. "But Mitsu ain't Natsu. We don't get why they look alike."

"Interesting," Edolas' Gajeel said. "So how did you get here?"

Mitsu tuned the pair out entirely until Gajeel bumped his shoulder half an hour later, "Come on, the other me is going to show us the lacrima. The king will be speaking soon."

"I'll go get everyone else," Mitsu said. "Wait, why was the other you bothering to ask about the lacrima if he already knew where it was?"

"You never know what someone else knows, my friend," Edolas' Gajeel said. "It's my job as an investigative reporter to get every shred of information I can."

"Great," Mitsu said.

"From what the Earthland me said, you need to bust up the lacrima in order to save your friends," Edo-Gajeel said.

"That's right," Mitsu said.

"I'll help you guys out, if you need it," the reporter said.

"Course you will," Gajeel said, wrapping his arm around his counterpart's neck. "You're me after all. Wouldn't make any sense for you to not help."

As Mitsu jogged away toward the hotel, he muttered to himself, "Those two make an odd pair. They're pretty chummy though."

Within a few minutes, Mitsu burst through the hotel doors. "Natsu, wake up already," he said. "We've found the lacrima!"

The Dragon Slayer leapt up, fire spewing from his mouth. "ALRIGHT! Now I smash it, right?"

Mitsu laughed as he walked out of the room to knock on the girls' door. "Yea, you get to smash it, probably."

"What do you mean probably?" Happy asked. Mitsu glanced at the cat.

"There might be something Natsu wants to smash more, like the people that must be guarding it," the swordsman explained.

Lucy opened the door, dressed and awake, saying, "I heard you through the wall. Let's get going!"

"Wait, don't we eat first?" Happy asked.

"Don't you have a fish or something in the ridiculous knapsack?" Carla asked as everyone headed out.

"Uh, I ate that," Happy said.

"That doesn't matter," Wendy said. "Where's Gajeel?"

"With Gajeel," Mitsu said flatly.

"Another doppelganger?" Lucy groaned.

"Uh huh," Mitsu hummed. "And this one's a bit annoying. But Gajeel loves the guy. Anyway, there they are." Mitsu pointed toward Gajeel and Edo-Gajeel standing together, still looking chummy, right where he left them.

"So this is Earthland's Lucy? And Wendy too," Edolas' Gajeel mused when he saw everyone. "And Natsu. If all three of you pinkettes were together, well, that would be amusing."

"Not as amusing as you might think," Lucy muttered, thinking of being around her copy and mixing Gemini into the mix.

"Not to be rude," Mitsu said, "but if we don't get going soon, Natsu will likely start setting the town on fire."

"That'll happen anyway," Gajeel Redfox grumbled, though the Iron Dragon Slayer had a small smirk on his face.

"We'd best get on our way then," Edo-Gajeel said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

Everyone was fairly quiet as the investigative reporter led them through the city. It was not that long of a walk, but tensions rose every time someone looked at the odd group. The citizens were not likely suspicious of anything, but the mages recognized that they would likely be fighting the kingdom soon. With the exception of Natsu and Gajeel, the Fairy Tail members were anxious, though Mitsu was fairly certain they would be able to handle everything the army could throw at them in an emergency response.

By the time they finally arrived at the lacrima, a crowd was already gathered and quickly growing.

"That is not the entire lacrima," Carla said.

"You're right," Mitsu said. "The edge at the bottom is too jagged."

"That is a piece they broke off to show everyone?" Lucy asked in wonder.

"As if our friends are some kind of prize," Natsu growled.

"To our kingdom, they are," Edo-Gajeel said. "Though I doubt everyone would be all that excited if they knew where the lacrima actually came from."

"Keep quiet," Mitsu said, bringing his finger up to his lips. "The people around can hear us if they try." The swordsman had an unsettling feeling in his gut, and leaned toward Gajeel to whisper, "You need to be ready. I doubt Natsu will be able to keep his cool for long."

"Natsu has cool to keep?" Gajeel questioned. "Gi hi hi!" Still, the Iron Dragon Slayer glanced at the flame-eater, noting his already tense and agitated stance and expression.

Before anyone could say anything else, a man in a long brown cloak and large, bishop-like hat stepped out onto a platform erected near the lacrima. He held a staff in his hands, and Mitsu suspected it was a sort of weapon, and, assuming this was King Faust, it likely was not just for show.

"People of Edolas! My holy country! This is the result of our work! Through the use of Anima, we have created ten years worth of magic power!" Faust proclaimed haughtily.

"Created?!" Natsu growled, flames already dripping from his mouth. Lucy grabbed him around the waist, calming the Dragon Slayer slightly. He was not the only one though. Mitsu had to stop himself from grabbing his sword, and Gajeel's crossed arms bulged as he held himself back as well.

"But this is not enough for my people!" the king continued. "I have plans to produce so much magic this amount will seem like garbage!"

Then he did it.

To emphasize his point, Faust struck the lacrima with his staff, breaking a piece off.

For a brief moment, nobody among Fairy Tail acted due to the shock while the crowd cheered. The recovery was quick. And very violent.

Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu tighter, but that did not stop the roaring flames from flowing out of his maw. She quickly released him, realizing the strength Natsu's rage offered; he could probably take on the army right then.

Mitsu's soul demanded blood, but Gajeel grabbed Mitsu's arm as he tore his blade from its sheath aggressively. "I'll handle the lacrima," Gajeel growled. "You and Natsu make 'em pay. I'll join soon enough.

Natsu certainly did not need Gajeel's permission. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" he screamed. The torrential flames made the sun seem dark in comparison as they swallowed dozens of soldiers whole. Mitsu doubted they lived.

But he felt no sympathy, and quickly joined Natsu, not even bothering to contain the destruction. The fools deserved it. "Crimson Wolf's Soul!" the swordsman growled. His magic aura flooded over the panicking citizens. Lucy openly gawked at the startling difference between the normally cool-headed Mitsu and this fierce and frightening crimson-haired man.

"Die," Mitsu commanded gruffly as he rose from the ground. He then swung his katana in an arc in front of him, devastating the surrounding area with the magical shockwave that rushed from the stroke. The force of the blow forced almost everyone in front of Mitsu to the ground, and the few that remained standing wished they had.

Within the next moment, Natsu unleashed another attack. "FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" the Dragon Slayer yelled. What little there was that was not on fire already was set aflame instantly, and those that remained standing after Mitsu's attack were roasted alive.

The entire courtyard, and likely the majority of the city at that point, was terrorized. Jumping from building to building, Natsu's flames began to consume the city in his unrestrained anger. Meanwhile, Mitsu's own malice soon focused on the man who caused all this: Faust.

It was the king's own fault really. First, he breaks off a piece of the lacrima containing their friends. That started the entire scene. His second mistake was trying to attack the ferocious swordsman.

Faust fired several blasts of magic from his sceptre, though whether this was in desperation or arrogance Mitsu did not know. However, the bolts of magic dissolved within meters of Mitsu, much to King Faust's utter befuddlement. Unfortunately for the mad king, this caught Mitsu's attention.

Glowing crimson and sparking dangerously, Mitsu's eyes narrowed as they settled on the king.

"Fool," Mitsu growled. "Crimson Wolf's Fang!" The powerful bolt of magic tore through the air, leaving a trail of blood red magic in its wake.

Faust listened to his fear and jumped out of the way of the heavily charged spell, barely managing to avoid the blast. Mitsu did not follow up his strike for one reason, and one reason alone: Gajeel had shattered the lacrima. Faust wisely took the opportunity to flee.

Once this distraction settled, Mitsu realized how quickly his magic drained and quickly released his spell, falling to the ground below, shaking from fatigue. The bright light emanating from the broken lacrima snapped Natsu from his fiery rampage.

Despite their shock at their friend's somewhat justified actions, Lucy and Wendy quickly rushed toward the magical flash. Mitsu looked up from his position on all fours once the light died down before smiling slightly.

"I had a feeling that it could have been those two," he breathed hoarsely when he felt the familiar magic signatures.

"I knew that the lacrima was only one part of the whole, but..." Lucy began, but words escaped her.

As the last remnant of the light died down, two figures rose from the ground: Titania Erza Scarlet, and Gray Fullbuster. Gajeel's mouth gaped open.

"Wait, what? That huge thing was only? But that? I, uh..." Gajeel stuttered.

"Yes, Gajeel, it was only the two of them," Mitsu muttered as he shakily struggled to his feet, reaching in his pocket for the X-balls.

"What's going on here?" Gray asked.

"We'll have to explain soon," Lucy said.

"For now, both of you need to take one of these, courtesy of Mystogan," Mitsu said, tossing the small pills at his friends.

"What is this?" Erza asked.

"It'll let you use your magic here," Wendy said.

"Will someone explain what is going on?" Gray yelled. The ice mage had already stripped off his shirt. Gray probably did not even know it.

Mitsu had turned his attention to the sky above when he heard a roar in the distance and spotted dozens, if not hundreds, of the flying creatures Lucy Ashley identified as Legions. The Royal City's armies, and likely several of Faust's other forces were reacting.

"Lucy wasn't being coy when she said we had no time," Mitsu said, recollecting what little energy he had left. "The military is on its way. We have to move. And now. There is no way we can take on the entire army right now. With a plan, there is a chance that it is possible."

Mitsu began to move, but his legs quickly failed him; he had definitely overdone the magic.

"You _will _explain everything to me," Erza said as she wrapped Mitsu's arm across her shoulders to help him move.

"You got it, Scarlet," Mitsu groaned. "When we get out of this, we'll explain everything."

Edo-Gajeel walked up, briefly staring at the destruction in awe. "I'll keep my ear to the ground and see if I can find anything valuable out," he said.

"Brave man," Gajeel said with a grin and bumped fists with his Edolas counterpart. "And Mitsu? Next time, make sure to leave something for me to do!"

* * *

"Why did we have to hide out here in the forest?" Lucy asked.

"They will search the town first," Mitsu muttered.

"And then they'll check here!" Lucy yelled.

"This will work for now," Erza said, firmly cutting off any further argument. "This Edolas is a strange place," the requip mage mused.

"I'll say," Gray said.

"Where did your shirt go, Gray?" Mitsu asked.

"I actually took it off on purpose this time," Gray said smugly while patting the ground beside him. "It's right here."

"No it isn't," Natsu laughed. "Stripper!"

"What?! The hell did my shirt go? I swear I put it there!" Gray yelled.

"Shut up," Gajeel growled. "You idiots are going to call the entire army down on our heads."

"Gajeel is right," Erza said.

"What are we gonna do?" Wendy asked.

All the while, Carla was dutifully ignoring Happy, much to the blue cat's chagrin. Carla seemed distracted by something she was thinking about, so whether she was intentionally ignoring her fellow cat was up for debate.

"I think we should go after that king guy!" Natsu said excitedly. "There will be tons of people to fight!"

"Fighting sounds fun," Gajeel said. "That pathetic fight in Louen barely classified as a brawl."

"Idiots," Gray muttered.

"I agree," Mitsu said to Gray before clearing his throat slightly. Most of his magic seemed to have recovered at that point, so the swordsman was feeling much better than earlier, though he was still sore.

"Our goal should be to find the rest of the lacrima that Gray and I were broken from," Erza said.

"And then we smash it!" Natsu said.

"You're annoying," Gajeel growled.

"And neither of you will even think about fighting right now," Erza warned, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"We can only hope that the other Gajeel manages to find where the lacrima is," Lucy said.

"I think you're right," Mitsu agreed.

"What is he can't?" Wendy asked. "Find where the lacrima is, I mean."

"Then we go to the king and beat him up until he tells us!" Natsu suggested. Everyone groaned except for Gajeel.

"Natsu may be an idiot," the Iron Dragon Slayer began, ignoring Natsu's protests, "but I think he is right. What other option do we have? We know that this Faust character will know where it is, or someone in the castle at least."

"As much as I hate to admit, the Dragon Slayers are probably right," Mitsu said. "We can't look all over the world for it. There is just too much ground to cover, and that isn't even counting the floating islands. We don't have the time to waste."

"You're probably right," Erza agreed. "But all this is assuming that this other Gajeel can't find it for us."

"Yea," Lucy said, drawing her knees to her chest and sighing. "Edolas sucks."

Everyone chuckled a bit at Lucy's comment, but otherwise did not respond.

By the time Edo-Gajeel found the mages, the sun had long since set. The reporter was immediately bombarded with questions from the impatient wizards, but he quickly gestured for them to be quiet.

"First off," Edo-Gajeel said, "the king has announced that all of you are enemies to Edolas and terrorists and are to be detained on sight. You probably won't be able to go anywhere anymore, what with the money Faust put out for your heads."

"Does he have pictures of us out yet?" Lucy asked nervously.

"No, not quite yet. But they do have your descriptions," Edo-Gajeel said.

"Did you manage to find out where the rest of the lacrima is?" Mitsu asked the reporter.

"I'm afraid not," Edo-Gajeel said, sadly shaking his head. "The king is keeping that information very close."

"Would it be feasible to attack the castle?" Erza asked. "If only the king or members of his court would know, we need to get them to tell us."

Edo-Gajeel laughed. "Maybe if the guards are sleeping and you get lucky," he said. Natsu started to get angry, but the reporter quickly continued. "I don't doubt your strength at all. In fact, I'm certain you might have been able to manage assaulting Faust's fortress under normal circumstances. But, as it stands, more of the military than normal is here right now, even before your little show in town. Now, more and more forces are pouring in from all across the country."

"By the way, how bad is the damage to the city?" Lucy asked with a slight wince.

"Well, they are still fighting the fires in several places, and the citizens have been placed under collective house arrest, unless, of course, their house is on fire," Edo-Gajeel said.

"You overdid it again, flame-for-brains," Gray muttered.

"Yea," Natsu said, not even bothering to argue with his friend. The Dragon Slayer never wanted to hurt innocent people, but he just lost it back there.

"Regardless of what happened," Erza said, "we need to take action. Eventually, Faust's armies will find us. We need to strike first."

Natsu quickly shook off his depressed mood, though Mitsu could tell it was slightly forced. "We can still take them head on! We're Fairy Tail wizards!" the Dragon Slayer said.

"Don't be foolish," Erza snapped back. "They vastly outnumber us, and we have no idea what kinds of magic tools they have at their disposal."

"King Faust has geniuses developing magic weaponry for him," Edo-Gajeel said. "There is every chance that they retrofitted something they already have to handle the bunch of you already."

"So?" Natsu asked.

"So we don't assault them head on," Mitsu said, drawing everyone's attention. "We sneak in. Infiltrate the palace. We can definitely handle their armies as long as we don't take on the whole chunk at once."

"Sounds good to me, but how do we get in?" Lucy asked, glancing at Edolas's Gajeel for a second.

"Don't look at me," he said. "I'm just a reporter. Breaking into the castle is insurgency. Not that I'm unwilling, however. I just don't know how to get you guys in."

"Infiltrating sounds fun," Gajeel said. "We'll be like ninjas, Gi hi."

"Oh, please don't mention ninjas!" Lucy groaned while looking at Natsu and Happy.

"I knew our skill would be needed again, little buddy!" Natsu said, already having wrapped his scarf around his head.

"Aye!" Happy cried.

Mitsu laughed at the ridiculous pair as they darted around, moving their hands into bizarre symbols and generally acting like idiots.

"But seriously, how do we get in?" Lucy asked everyone again.

Carla cleared her throat. "I may know a way in," she said, though she still seemed uncertain. "My memory of Edolas has been constantly improving, and there is a tunnel nearby that the king likely uses as an escape tunnel."

"All of you sort this out," Mitsu grunted, walking away from the fire and farther into the woods. The swordsman never trusted Carla's "memories" the moment he heard of them, but they had no real alternative at the moment. Still, he could not be a part of this planning when he doubted the very premise it was based on.

"Ugh," Mitsu groaned. "What's going on with me?" he asked himself. "I've been on edge ever since I meditated last night. Damned wolf and his eyes. What was scaring him? The damn thing knows more about me, and probably everything else, than I do. I shouldn't let it bother me, but it definitely seemed scared of something."

As he walked through the trees, Mitsu struggled to understand why he reacted so strongly to the wolf's nervousness. Sure, it was disconcerting, but it still did not warrant such tension.

Eventually, Mitsu found himself back among his friends. "Have you got everything figured out?" he asked.

"Yes," Carla said. "We will be entering the tunnel, which is very close by. From there, we follow the tunnel until it opens into the castle. Then we find the king, or someone else who would know where the lacrima is, and get the information."

"Fine," Mitsu grunted. "Sounds good enough to me. Still risky, but anything we do will be at this point. Let's get going. No time like the present."

"I'll head back to town," Edo-Gajeel said. "I'm more useful to everyone there."

"See you soon, other me," Gajeel said with a smile.

With that, the Fairy Tail mages followed Carla in relative silence to the tunnel she spoke of.

Wendy walked next to Mitsu for several moments before finally deciding to ask, "Mitsu, do you hate Carla?"

"Huh? Why would you ask that?" the swordsman asked his young friend.

"It just seems like you don't like her. I mean, you got angry at her back in Louen and then when she said she might have a way into the castle you stormed off like you were mad," Wendy said.

"Well, I'm sorry if that was the impression I sent off," Mitsu apologized. "Back in Louen, I did get mad at her, but I wouldn't hold that against her. She was scared because she couldn't use her magic, and the rest of it was just her attitude, which admittedly rubs me the wrong way a lot. No, I don't hate Carla. She is my nakama, just as much as you are, and I would and will do anything I can to protect all of you."

"That's great!" Wendy said. "But, uh, why did you stomp off when Carla spoke up earlier?"

"Oh, that," Mitsu muttered. "Well, I don't really trust her memory anyway, but that was just the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. I've been pretty tense since last night. I didn't leave because of Carla."

"Okay," Wendy said. "What's going on?"

"Well–"

Carla, unintentionally cut Mitsu off. "This is it. We're here."

"That block of solid stone is the door?" Gray asked.

"Can I smash it?" Natsu asked excitedly.

"What is with you and smashing things recently?" Lucy asked. "It's weird. You normally like fighting."

"Hey, I went without magic for a day. I just wanna set stuff on fire and fight," Natsu said with a huge smile on his face.

"Don't smash it yet," Mitsu said, stepping toward the sealed doorway. "Let me check this out. I think I sensed some faint magic." The swordsman placed his hand on the cold, damp stone and focused.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"It's a very weak magic," Mitsu said. "I can barely tell it's there, much less what it does."

"It's probably a trigger to open the door. I doubt someone would want to push that thing," Gray suggested.

"I suppose that's possible," Mitsu said. "I still find it odd. We might want to be careful."

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"

The stone blocking the path was gone.

"I should've seen that coming," Mitsu sighed. "Well, might as well go in. The magic was dispersed with its shattered container."

"Idiot," Gajeel grumbled. Natsu just ignored him.

"Lead the way, Carla," Mitsu said, gesturing for the cat with the map to take point.

"Thank you, Mitsu," Carla said in her normal, refined, or snooty to some people, tone of voice.

As the group followed Carla through the tunnels, Erza fell in step with Mitsu. For several minutes she stayed quiet before finally speaking up. "Why did you leave the group earlier when we were planning everything?" she asked.

"Wendy asked me something similar a short while ago, though for different reasons," Mitsu chuckled. "Well, I suppose I should explain it a bit. During a meditation last night, the wolf within my mind seemed, well, upset. It seemed somewhat scared, and somehow excited all at once. Anyway, I think its anxiety has been affecting me all day."

"It could just be nothing," Erza said. "Your wolf friend seems to want something from you. Maybe it's scared that it won't get what it wants."

"Maybe," Mitsu mused. "But the wolf probably knows everything about me..."

"And it would be the first to know if something were going to happen to you," Erza said.

"Exactly," Mitsu said with a frown. "See why it bothers me?"

"I believe so," Erza said.

The pair fell silent again and followed Carla in silence for several more moments.

"Wait!" Mitsu said suddenly, stopping everyone in their tracks. "There is a large collection of magic power up ahead of us."

"Is it the lacrima?" Lucy asked.

Mitsu shook his head. "No, there isn't nearly enough magic power to be our friends. But there is a lot. Are we under the castle by now?"

"We are close," Carla said. "It is probably just the guards upstairs. Gajeel said there were a lot of men on duty after what you and Natsu did. Nevertheless, we must push forward."

"Man, it stinks down here!" Natsu said, covering his nose with his scarf. "I can't even smell you, Happy!"

"I'm the one that smells like fish," Happy said.

"I know! I can't smell you!"

"Is the stench that bad to you?" Lucy asked.

"It is, actually," Wendy said while holding her nose.. Gajeel nodded his head, but did his best to ignore it.

"Their noses won't be able to smell anything," Erza muttered under her breath.

"I don't like it either," Mitsu responded quietly.

The swordsman's vision blurred slightly and his head ached, but Mitsu just shook it off. His limbs began to grow heavy and he soon swayed on his feet slightly. "Whoa," Mitsu muttered when he stumbled slightly. He could not think straight for a moment, but still realized he could not sense Erza's magic, despite the fact that she was standing right next to him.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked from behind him. Erza also gave him a concerned look.

"I'm fine," Mitsu grunted. "Whatever that was is going away. Maybe I didn't get enough to eat. I just felt strange for a moment. I'm better now."

"Whatever you say," Gray said, slightly sceptical and not fully believing his friend.

Mitsu sighed when he could sense Erza again. Soon he felt Gray and Gajeel behind him. Then Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Carla. Mitsu's breath left him quickly when his magical sense fully returned.

He double checked.

He triple checked.

Then he stopped dead.

"We're surrounded!" Mitsu yelled, drawing his sword from his sheath quickly.

Light lacrima turned on across the cavern in a wave, revealing a vast army headed by Erza Knightwalker, the Edolas version of his sparring partner.

The rest of the Fairy Tail wizards quickly readied their magic to fight and wasted no time before jumping into the fight. Natsu's fireballs decimated several squads before they even realized they were fighting the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel took out whole swaths of soldiers with his magic, a gleeful, savage grin on his face. Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy followed suit in their own way. Spears of ice. Dancing swords. A giant and very angry bull. Blasts of bone-crushing wind.

But Mitsu's blade never tasted the blood of these enemies. The moment he took a step forward, his katana prepared to strike, Mitsu fell to his knees. Every drop of magic power condensed in his body in an instant, but only for an instant. His magic soon rushed out over the area.

The light lacrima that turned on in a wave turned off in a wave as the magic filled the room. Erza leapt back toward Mitsu, already knowing what had happened. After all, she had experience it before.

"Everyone! Come here!" Erza yelled. She pried Mitsu's katana from his hand when she realized how far gone he was and prepared to defend her nakama, to the death if need be.

What little was visible in the dim light from the lanterns the Fairy Tail wizards carried with them soon vanished as Mitsu's vision left him. As the rest of his senses abandon him, tears pour from Mitsu's eyes.

He had done it again. He had nullified all the magic in the area. What's more, he is losing himself to another violent memory.

He had doomed his nakama.

* * *

**AN: **FINALLY! I am so sorry about the long wait, everyone. I lost my notebook which contained everything I had planned for the chapter, and I could not get any words down without it. Well, I found it, obviously, and I finished this chapter. I decided to post it without checking over it. You wonderful readers have waited long enough. Hopefully, there won't be too many errors. I'll come back over this and proofread soon.

If you didn't already know, I made a Twitter account for my fanfiction. I'm doing my best to keep everyone posted on my progress with my chapters on that. So, follow me TheZeroDragon for exclusive updates and info on my stories. Or don't. But think about the cats. Happy would want you to.


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